'Anxious': Parkinson's sufferer and wife wait hours for taxi in Mandurah

But for elderly and disabled residents such as Bruce Fullbrook, who uses a gopher due to suffering from Parkinson's, multi-purpose taxis are their only choice in getting around the city.

Bruce's wife Edith was left frustrated after the couple waited for two and a half hours for a Swan Taxi outside the Sporting Globe on Saturday evening.

First calling a taxi at around 4pm, Edith was told it could be a 30-minute wait. With the sun shining, the couple was happy to wait that long but as the time got closer to 5pm Edith decided to ring the taxi company again.

"When I rang back they said, call back in a quarter of an hour - I must've had that said to me six to eight times," she said.

"Then I had a driver ring me an hour or so later asking if I was somewhere else and I told him where I was and he said well they've sent me up to Rockingham.

"I couldn't believe it."

Eventually getting tired of waiting, Edith called her friend who owns a taxi, which arrived 15 minutes later.

"As I got into his taxi another taxi driver pulled up and said he had only been given the message to pick me up five minutes ago," she said.

"This happened two and a half hours after I first called."

Relying on multi-purpose taxis to get around, Edith said the almost three-hour wait had impacted her and Bruce both physically and mentally.

"Bruce is in a gopher and he's got Parkinson's so he should've been home for medication. He also has cognitive problems as well so he got anxious and I had to keep him calm," she said.

"I was also sitting on a wooden seat the whole time and I never have back trouble but I had a sore back the next day."

Former Mandurah taxi driver Valmai Wright said she stopped working due to a number of issues in the taxi industry.

"I just thought I don't want to work for any of them I would rather sit here and advocate to make sure they provide better services," she said.

"Big gophers and wheelchairs often don't fit on buses so these people rely on taxis - we need better services in the community for the disabled and elderly."

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Edith has now made a formal complaint to Swan Taxis and is waiting for a response.

Swan Taxis confirmed they were investigating the incident and at this stage didn't know why there was a long wait time.

"We will get our team to get in contact with Edith and deal with that matter," a Swan Taxis spokesman said.

"We regret that happened. We need to get the team to investigate it and find the reason for it."

More to come.

How has your experience been getting a ride in the Mandurah area? Email editor@mandurahmail.com.au