Sensory Impairment Launch

Mercury Taxis are pleased to announce the launch of a new service for individuals with visual or hearing impairments. With over 4,000 people with sensory impairments in Sheffield alone, Mercury Taxis now offer a text service for anyone with a hearing impairment enabling them to ‘text-a-taxi’.

For customers with visual impairments, specialist large print business cards, postcards and posters are being distributed around the city to assist customers in obtaining taxi services as and when they are required. The services have been launched following consultations with the City Council’s Sensory Impairment Team who advised that such services would make travel within the city much easier for those with visual or hearing impairments, who may usually struggle to order a taxi using other methods.

(Pictured above is Peter Holmes, Marketing Manager at Mercury Taxis, along with Rachael Smith, Karen Paston, Alan Thorpe and Ali Anthony from the City Council's Sensory Impairment Team).

Cllr Steve Ayris, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Independent and Healthy Living said: “Mercury Taxis is now offering just the kind of services that can make a big difference to someone with eyesight problems or hearing difficulties. An everyday task which others may take for granted can be made significantly easier with small changes like this.

“I am pleased that the very people who would benefit most from this service have been directly consulted through Sheffield City Council. Their needs have been listened to and they have been instrumental in shaping this new service.”

To cope with the inevitable demand for these services, all 400 of Mercury Taxis’ drivers have been given extra training and fresh guidelines in how bookings with visually & hearing impaired individuals should be carried out.

Peter Holmes, Marketing Manager at Mercury Taxis commented: “We are really pleased to have worked with the council on this project and launch the new services which will help thousands of people in Sheffield. We’ve given all of our drivers advice on dealing with bookings through this service - we hope that it makes ordering and travelling in one of our taxis that little bit easier for people with eye sight problems or hearing difficulties.”