A taxi boss has hit out after one of her drivers was told to remove a
religious cross from his vehicle's dashboard - because it looked 'very
phallic'.
Clair Cook was told by her local council that her
driver's symbol should be removed because they had had a complaint from a
15-year-old schoolboy that the cross was a 'fake penis'.
But
she has branded the complaint ridiculous and said she was appalled that
anyone could think it was anything other than a religious ornament.
She also said that if the driver, a devout Roman Catholic who works
for her at AnD Taxis in York, had been carrying a symbol of any other
religious faith, then City of York Council would have reacted with more
caution and investigated fully before any decision was made to ask for
it to be removed.
The driver, who does not want to be
identified, said he was a Roman Catholic and had bought the cross on
holiday in Greece six years ago.
Asked what his reaction was
when he heard the complaint, he said: 'Incredulity. I couldn't believe
that anyone could think it wasn't a cross.
'I have taken it
off the dashboard as requested because I do not want to lose my licence
but I do not think this has been handled properly.'
Ms Cook
said the complaint had been from a boy who was being taken to school in
the taxi, who had also complained about the driver's driving ability.
However,
the driver had no previous customer complaints and was a very
reputable, reserved driver, she said.
'We almost complain he is the
slowest driver,' she joked.
'I am personally deeply offended
and very sympathetic for the driver. Not only is an ornament of this
nature a religious one, but the complaint and its implication is a very
serious one.
'The safety of the passengers is always my number one priority, however, so is my drivers' reputation and trust.'
Colin
Rumford, head of Environmental Health and Trading Standards at City of
York Council, said the wrong advice had been issued over the complaint.
He said: 'City of York Council takes any complaints raised by members of the public very seriously. In this case a complaint was received from a child regarding what they thought was an inappropriate item in a taxi. Careful
consideration is always taken when any complaints are received and,
depending on the nature of the complaint, officers will take relevant
action where necessary. In this instance, it appears that the
taxi operator was wrongly advised to remove the item and our
intervention should have been confined to making them aware of the
complaint. It would then be a matter for the taxi operator to resolve
with the customer.'