WENDY Banister said she was left "humiliated" after being stranded for more than six hours by a Newcastle taxi company on the night of her daughter's wedding.
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"It was soul destroying," Ms Banister told the Newcastle Herald.
"It made me feel so insignificant like I just didn't matter."
Ms Banister - who has spent the last three years of her life in a wheelchair following multiple hip replacements - said she rang Newcastle Taxis (13CABS) just after 9pm on the night of Tuesday, March 16, from the wedding venue.
"We were at Lake Macquarie Yacht Club. So I went out the front at about 9.30pm to wait for the taxi," she said.
"I was assured by the company that a taxi was on its way but at about 10pm the venue said they had to shut the gates so we couldn't wait there any longer.
"Me, my daughter and the Yacht Club made numerous calls to the taxi company in this time and they always assured us there was someone on the way."
Due to complications with the hip replacements which led to sepsis in her femur, Ms Banister is unable to get out of her chair without the help of her carer. Due to this, Ms Banister is forced to use transport which accommodates wheelchairs.
At around 11pm, Ms Banister said she made her way up the hill to the Gunyah Hotel - with assistance from the wedding party - where, again, staff got in contact with the taxi company.
"By about 11.30 staff at the Gunyah had to close up and they waited with me on the verandah," Ms Banister said.
"I had told my daughter and her husband to leave me at this stage because I didn't want to ruin their wedding night.
"It wasn't until around 4.15am that I got a call from the taxi company asking if anyone had arrived. Which of course they hadn't."
Ms Banister eventually found a way home by getting her carer, Rachel, to access a company van after hours.
"I got to bed at around 5am Wednesday morning," she said.
"This was my first major event since being in a wheelchair and my confidence in myself has taken a massive hit.
"Todd and Amy form the Gunyah deserves the biggest accolades because they stayed with me for hours."
Having worked full time until she was forced to use a wheelchair, Ms Banister now volunteers her time with Reach Homeless Serves. She lives in an apartment in Wickham and said the experience has left her with a fear of leaving the the area.
"For the most part Newcastle is amazing. It's accessible and accommodating but now I'm scared that if I go too far away from home I won't be able to get back," she said.
"It was a humiliating degrading experience. I'll never use that company again."
The Newcastle Herald reached out to the taxi company for comment.
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