Expectant Mum Kicked Out of Taxi As Driver Put Her Bags On The Sidewalk

A heavily pregnant woman�and her husband were shocked when�they were kicked out�by a taxi driver, who�refused to take them to hospital.

Verina Bowden was told by her doctors at�Hobart Private Hospital�last Sunday evening that�she would be induced in the morning of the following day.

Instead of staying at the hospital overnight, she and her husband, Bradley, decided to stay at a hotel nearby, and take a taxi to the hospital again on Monday�morning.

Bradley told�The Mercury�that the next day, when they headed to the taxi rank,�they immediately put their bags in the boot of the taxi and got inside the car.

“Once our bags were in the boot of the car and my wife was seated in the back, I asked to go to Hobart Private Hospital because my wife was about to have a baby.

“He said ‘No, no I’ve been waiting here a long time, this trip is no good’.

“We were both quite confused and unsure about what was going on,” he said.

But, what happened next stunned them.

“He opened the boot and took our bags out and put them on the sidewalk.

“He then motioned for Verina to get out of the car. I looked at his screen in the cab and he was accepting a job to the airport.

“He then took off without a word.

“We were quite shocked and couldn’t quite believe what had just happened,” he said.

Bradley described it as “quite a surreal experience.”

Thankully, the next driver willingly took them to the hospital where their baby girl,�Willow, was born later that day.

After the experience, Bradley, who is a tour operator in Hobart,�said that if some taxi drivers’ rude behaviour continues, people may decide to�resort to using Uber.�”If drivers continue with this kind of behaviour it will make people think more about Uber being the answer. I hope international guests don’t encounter this kind of service,” he said.

A spokesman for the Department of State growth has confirmed that the department is investigating following a complaint made by the Bowdens.

“It is completely unacceptable for a taxi driver parked in a taxi zone to refuse a fare due to a short distance,” the spokesman said.

“It is also completely unacceptable for a driver to refuse a fare based on the medical condition of a passenger, including pregnancy, unless the passenger can’t be safely transported “� such as being unable to wear a seatbelt.”

If the department finds the driver guilty of an infringement, he could be fined between $250 to $1570.

Source:�Kidspot.com.au

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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