Grandma stranded by pre-booked cab
A ROCKHAMPTON grandmother almost missed out on a family wedding because a pre-booked wheelchair taxi failed to show up.
The elderly woman's niece, Rebecca Hebron, said a specialised wheelchair taxi was pre-booked three weeks prior to the event but failed to show, leaving the grandmother stranded, distressed and unable to get to the wedding.
Ms Hebron said multiple calls to the taxi company, Rockhampton Taxis, failed to resolve the situation.
She said the grandmother became increasingly distressed because the wedding party was forced to delay the ceremony and wait for the grandmother's arrival.
After hearing about the situation, a wheelchair-enabled taxi driver drove half an hour across town to give the stranded group a free ride to the ceremony.
Ms Hebron said the grandmother was over the moon to have made it to the wedding.
"Once she got there she was thrilled to be part of it," she said.
But for the wedding party, the delay of more than an hour saw a photo-shoot cut short as the evening light faded.
A spokeswoman for Rockhampton Taxis said the situation was unfortunate.
However, the company only booked pickup jobs, the taxis and driver sub-contracted were responsible for carrying out the work.
She said a co-ordinator at the office tried to find an available wheelchair-enabled taxi to pick up the group but none was available.
"Our girl called everyone they could to do the job but it's Beef Week; we're really busy," she said.
The spokeswoman said a taxi booking did not ensure the car and driver would be available on the day.
"Just because you make a booking it doesn't mean you're going to get a car."
