Auckland Co-op taxi delay leaves injured Devonport man waiting hours

A pensioner says he endured three hours of agony waiting for a taxi to take him to a medical clinic after he fell in his home.

Robert Osborne, 74, called St John the day after he was injured in a fall in his Devonport home.

He later found out he tore his meniscus and radial collateral ligament.

He originally rested and took pain medication at home, but eventually decided to get some help the next afternoon, on November 24, because the pain became so severe.

“It started to get bloody painful. So I rang the ambulance,” he said.

Osborne said after a short video consultation, St John called Auckland Co-op taxi.

He claims the taxi company was called about 2pm to take him to a medical clinic, which was only 8km from his home.

Osborne said the taxi arrived three hours later at 5pm after he made four phone calls to check how far away his ride to Shore Care was.

“I started to ring about ... two hours later.

“Where’s this taxi? Because I’m reasonably patient, but I was starting to get a little bit anxious,” Osborne said.

He claimed the phone operators said the taxi was 10 minutes away each time he called.

“I started to get rather highly p***** off, as you can imagine.”

Osborne said after managing to speak to a supervisor, the taxi finally arrived.

Auckland Co-operative Taxi apologised for the distress this caused and said the delay was due to “no available vehicles in the vicinity”.

Robert Osborne claims he was forced to wait after a St John-booked taxi arrived three hours late. Photo / Dean Purcell

‘I could have driven to Hamilton in that time’

Osborne said medical calls should be a priority.

“I find it very hard to understand that there were no taxis in Auckland. I could have driven to Hamilton in that time,” he said.

“The taxi was called at 2pm, and had the taxi left, it would have beaten all the school rush at 3pm.

“It only takes 15 minutes tops with the lights against you,” Osborne said.

Robert Osborne made four phone calls to check how far away his ride to Shore Care was. Photo / Dean Purcell

“My personal thoughts on the matter is no taxi driver wants to come down for a $30 fee ... drive for two hours through high-density traffic just to get a little bit of money for a fare.

“When you’ve got a contract from an emergency service, i.e. St. John, that should prioritise all calls above the other ones,” he said.

What went wrong?

Auckland Co-operative Taxi told the Herald it was never the intention to disregard Osborne’s needs or cause unnecessary stress.

“At our company, we take pride in operating with a GPS dispatch system. We genuinely strive to dispatch vehicles promptly, but regrettably, there were no available vehicles in the vicinity.

“Our supervisor made every possible effort to secure a vehicle for Osborne, extending the booking to all Auckland-based fleets. Despite these efforts, the request could not be fulfilled as quickly as we would have hoped.”

Auckland Co-operative Taxi timeline of the events:

• 3.10pm – Provider called to place a straight-away taxi booking on behalf of the client.
• 4.02pm – Osborne called to check on the vehicle. The operator apologised and explained there were delays in the area and that a taxi might need to come from the Takapuna or North Harbour area. Osborne said, “Takapuna is not far! Won’t take more than 10 mins”, and disconnected.
• 4.16pm – Osborne called again. The operator said they were still looking for the next available vehicle and that the job was on the highest priority. The operator requested Osborne call back if a taxi did not arrive in the next 7-10 minutes.
• 4.41pm – Osborne called for another update. The operator placed him on hold to consult the supervisor, who advised that efforts were ongoing. Osborne disconnected before the operator returned.
• 4.45pm – Osborne called again and was informed the taxi was 5-7 minutes away, as the booking had just been accepted by the driver. He was transferred to the supervisor, who provided the taxi’s location.
• 4.59pm- Client was picked up from home.

Robert Osborne claims he was told each time by the taxi company a car was 10 minutes away. Photo / Dean Purcell

Hato Hone St John Integrated Operations Centre Manager for Secondary Triage Jo Gallagher said it was following up with the taxi company to determine the cause of the delay.

Gallagher said many people call 111 for conditions that do not require an ambulance response.

In this case, a clinician contacted Osborne via video call, and it was determined it was appropriate for him to seek care from a local medical centre, and the clinician arranged the referral on his behalf.

Age Concern Auckland said it was aware of this situation and understood how distressing this experience would have been.

“We are currently making inquiries to better understand the circumstances ... We take any concerns about delays or barriers to accessing urgent care very seriously,” Age Concern Auckland said.

This is not the first time Osborne has had difficulty receiving transportation to medical treatment.

In 2024, he suffered a heart attack before being told over the phone he only had a chest infection and would have to wait two hours for an ambulance.