Taxis now required to take helper dogs

State Secretary Wilma Mansveld of Infrastructure and the Environment has decided that taxi drivers are no longer allowed to refuse guide dogs. Amsterdam and The Hague already have an obligation to transport - taxi drivers who are caught refusing guide dogs are fined or lose their taxi licence. This is not yet the case in other municipalities, leading to this new legislation. In June KNGF Guide Dog foundation reported that guide dogs are often still refused in Amsterdam. The foundation did a test to see if drivers were adhering to the rules. Nearly one in five cases refused the guide dog. Earlier Mansveld said that additional legislation will come if the problem could not be solved in other ways. According to the State Secretary the Ministry met with local authorities and interest groups, but no solution presented itself.