Taxi drivers offered their Hackney Carriage licence forms in Braille

Taxi drivers applying for their Hackney Carriage licence are being offered the forms in Braille by a council. 

Braille ad in Taxi Driver Application form

The document, issued by Portsmouth City Council, makes clear that it is also available in large print or audio format for those with sight problems.

A notice at the end reads: “You can get this Portsmouth City Council information in large print, Braille, audio or in another language….”
 
The council, a member of the Plain English Campaign, defended the forms.

Head of customer services Louise Wilders said: “Obviously, a taxi driver would not need the Braille version, but they might find a foreign language version helpful.

“The form is also for employers to fill in – they could need a Braille version.”

The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write. Braille was devised in 1821 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman.

Each Braille character or cell is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two columns of three dots each.