Edmonton woman wants change after she, her service dog were left waiting for a taxi
Marla Smith and her service dog Kuno like to spend time doing things around the city, so she's not very happy about being left at Rogers Place last Friday with no ride.
"I booked for a 6 p.m. cab to get us for the 7 p.m. game and I booked for a 10:15 p.m. pickup and they did advise it could be up to 40 minutes after that," she explained.
Despite being a few minutes late to the game, the drop-off worked out well. But the pick up proved disastrous.
Smith, her friend and Kuno were all left waiting for hours. So they called the taxi-line.
"Finally getting through to somebody I explained we've been waiting since 10:15 p.m. You know, 'Now we're at 90 minutes not 40 minutes. What are we looking at?' And they came back with, 'Well we're having trouble getting a pet friendly unit that can take the service dog,'" Smith recalled.
Kuno has government identification proving he's a service dog, which means under Alberta's service dog act, Kuno can use any cab whether it's pet friendly or not.
After telling the dispatcher that, Smith said the explanation from Co-op Taxi changed.
"Suddenly the story was, 'Well my taxis, I've only got two of them, one's in the north end, one's in Acheson. You're looking at another 60 to 90 minutes you should probably call another company,'" Smith said.
So that's what Smith did and an hour later she had her cab.
"I'm a pretty capable and competent person. All of a sudden one person doesn't give me the accommodation or the accessibility and I'm rendered completely powerless and vulnerable," Smith said.
She shared her ordeal on social media, leading to a backlash and calls to boycott the company, but Smith says that further hinders her community.
"That just hurts the ability for people to get the accessible transportation they need. We need more of this. What we need is standards and education,' she said.
CTV News Edmonton reached out to Co-op taxi for an interview but the company did not respond to multiple requests.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Wildfires are dampening against cool, rainy weather, but there's plenty left to contain
An opportune system of cool, wet weather Friday is dampening the spread of wildfires across Western Canada, but there's still plenty of work for responders and residents alike.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.
Dabney Coleman, actor who specialized in curmudgeons, dies at 92
Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in '9 to 5' and the nasty TV director in 'Tootsie,' has died. He was 92.
Information commissioner faces $700K funding shortfall, says system is 'overwhelmed'
Canada's information commissioner says her office is facing a $700,000 funding shortfall that could impact its ability to investigate complaints about government transparency and accountability.
Backlash over NFL player Harrison Butker's commencement speech has reached a new level
The NFL is distancing itself from controversial comments by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.