A taxi driver ruined Christmas for a 90-year-old wheelchair-bound woman, refusing to take her from a Stanwell Park aged care centre to her family’s lunch.
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An Illawarra Taxi Network (ITN) spokesman said the issue is being investigated.
Fiona Proust knew disabled taxis were in high demand at Christmas and so booked one months in advance to pick up her mother Elaine Pugh from a Stanwell Park facility.
On Christmas Day, Ms Proust said she got a call from the driver who was having difficulty finding the place.
“He was really aggro on the phone and frustrated,” Ms Proust said.
When the driver arrived at the Stanwell Park centre, Ms Proust said he parked outside and started blowing his horn.
“He spoke to the manager of the nursing staff and apparently abused her, like really abused her, and then refused to take my mum – just got in his cab and left,” Ms Proust said.
“So she had the job of ringing me and telling me ‘I’m sorry Fiona but the taxi driver’s left your mother behind’.”
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Staff at the centre were aware of the incident
Shortly afterwards, Ms Proust was told by ITN that the driver claimed he turned up at the centre but no one was home.
Four generations of Ms Pugh’s family had been waiting for her arrival but without a disabled taxi she could not join Christmas lunch.
“Her disability is quite extreme,” Ms Proust said.
“We can’t take her out of a wheelchair and put her in a car – she has to stay in the wheelchair.”
Ms Proust said the family was upset Ms Pugh could not come – but the woman herself is even more hurt.
“My mother’s not talking to any of us,” Ms Proust said.
“She’s so angry she got left out. She doesn’t understand what happened. All she knows if that she didn’t go, so that was very hard to deal with as well.”
ITN general manager John Megas said they had brought in extra disability cabs for Christmas.
Mr Megas said “no contact was made with the driver on arrival” at the centre and that the driver left after failing to reach Ms Proust by phone.
“Ms Proust finally called the call centre back and the driver was more than happy to return to the nursing home,” Mr Megas said.
“But due to the tight schedule of other upcoming bookings, the customer wasn't picked up, so the driver proceeded to his next booking.”
He made no mention of the claims of verbal abuse and ITN only claimed to be aware of them when the Mercury told a representative on Thursday.
The representative said the driver will be hauled before the board in January to answer the allegations.
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
