There is one answer for this illegal bastardry by cab drivers: Jump in, refuse to get out. If the driver calls the police, explain politely to the police officer that the driver is breaking the law and ask the police officer to commence legal proceedings against the driver. You will driven to your destination quicker than the driver can say: "You f%$&*@g b+"%h".
The Courier-Mail reports:
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| Communify chief Karen Dare, Zana Vasikic from Ashgrove and volunteer driver Rachael Laffey at Bardon. |
Elderly at mercy of cabbies who won’t collect them.
SOME of Brisbane’s taxis are stranding the city’s elderly by refusing to take them on short trips and collect them from suburbs such as The Gap.
Brisbane woman Peta Van Deyl said she saw the effect of a cab refusing a short fare at Brighton recently.
“I saw an elderly couple walking along and I thought it was a bit hot for them to be walking. I dropped something in a friend’s letterbox, came back around the corner and saw that the man had taken a fall and he had a bleeding face and hands,” she said.
“They said they were at a podiatrist’s appointment and they’d called a cab but no-one would come because the fare wasn’t big enough.”
Ms Van Deyl said the man had Parkinson’s, a deep laceration to the back of his hand, and had taken skin off his nose and cheekbone.
“I’m doing occupational therapy as a degree and the people who are likely to call a cab to travel less than a kilometre are the ones who really need it.”
Bardon community organisation Communify transports clients to do their shopping, and chief executive Karen Dare said they had also heard of taxis being unwilling to travel to Brisbane’s westside.
“We have received feedback from clients that taxis don’t like to drive ‘all the way out to The Gap and outer suburbs just to collect someone who wants a lift around the corner’,” she said.
“We also hear that the clients can be waiting up to an hour or more for the taxi to show, which is a major issue when they have a doctor and specialist appointments.”
An 89-year-old resident of The Gap - who didn’t want to be identified - said she used to do her shopping at The Gap until a taxi failed to show up to collect her.
“I rang the taxi phone then I went out the front and I waited and waited. I was there for 45 minutes at least,” she said.
The woman said she had heard from several people that cabs don’t like picking up from The Gap.
Mr Parker said Yellow Cabs also encouraged drivers to work the suburbs and not stick to the city, Fortitude Valley and airport.
“We have a reputation for being very tough on drivers. We’ve gone to a lot of trouble to work with drivers to get them to understand this company has a service culture, and we will not tolerate anybody who brings us into disrepute,” he said.
Mr Parker urged anyone with a similar complaint to come forward.
“They can make a report online, call us, or ring me personally if they wish because I’d like to hear about it,” he said.
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