In a concerning incident in Adelaide’s Central Business District, an 11-year-old boy named Oliver, who has cerebral palsy, was compelled to take an unconventional route to the hospital. His mother, Jodie Sandy, had pre-booked an access taxi through 13CABS for 6:45 am, but the vehicle never arrived. This unfortunate situation arose while they were trying to get from their CBD hotel to the Memorial Hospital in North Adelaide for vital specialist treatment.
Frantically reaching out to other companies yielded no results, leaving them in a difficult position until a kind truck driver, Dee Chhoy, came to their rescue and offered them a lift. Chhoy expressed that he was merely acting on his upbringing, stating, “you see someone in distress, stop, ask questions.”
Jodie Sandy voiced her disappointment over the lack of available transport for individuals with disabilities in Australia, stating, “The best country in the world and we can’t get a disability taxi.” She further implored officials, “Fix it, it’s appalling… because this can’t happen to everyone.”
Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis condemned the situation as “outrageous” and “completely unacceptable,” agreeing that the current access taxi system is fundamentally flawed. He assured that major reforms are underway, including a plan to buy back all access cabs, to improve the situation for those needing specialized transportation services.
In response to this incident, 13CABS released a statement indicating their intention to reach out to Jodie Sandy to discuss what went wrong and to extend their apologies, assuring her they would strive to prevent similar occurrences in the future.