Number's up for taxi calls

John Smith and his wife Ellen have shared an interesting life.

Mr Smith, a chef by trade, worked in an aged-care facility during the 1970s but later discovered many patients were restricted when it came to travelling around town.

He also managed a petrol station in Geraldton at the time, and found many people would inquire about a taxi service.

In response, he purchased a taxi and worked all three jobs.

But as the taxi service gained momentum, Mr Smith found it difficult to manage his time and took the plunge to launch Sun City Taxis in the 1980s.

“It all started when people asked me at the petrol station if I could get a taxi for them and I just got so sick of them asking, I decided to get a taxi of my own, ” he said.

“I was still working as a chef and we were getting more and more calls for the taxi service, that I had to get my wife to help me.

“Eventually we got to the point where we just could not keep up — we were getting so many calls for our taxi service we decided to start our own business.”

Mr Smith said the inaugural Sun City Taxis business succeeded and became very popular in the local community.

However, in 2010, after about 30 years providing the service, the time had come to sell.

Mr Smith decided to keep the business number as his personal landline because he said “it is really easy to remember”.

But since selling the business, it has not been a very happy ending, as the company’s number is still displayed in phone boxes and supermarkets across Geraldton.

“We are still getting three to four phone calls every day from people wanting to use the taxi service and it is so annoying, ” he said.

“The company actually doesn’t exist any more, but we are getting flocked with calls all the time because the old number still hasn’t been taken from phone boxes and supermarkets.

“Sometimes people call us and start to abuse us over the phone because we do not provide a taxi service and these calls are coming in early in the morning and late at night.”

Mr Smith said he had considered changing the number, but said it would make it difficult for overseas relatives to get in touch.

He said he wanted to state the Sun City Taxis company no longer existed and the phone number was being used privately.

“We want to live in peace without the phone ringing around the clock — we are not a taxi company, and the number 9921 7000 is not for a taxi service anymore- it's a private number, ” Mr Smith said.

“We hope people can understand and the numbers will be taken down soon.”