Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-14 Daily Xml

Contents

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:37): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations, representing the Minister for Transport, a question about accessible public transport.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: In 1996, as part of the settlement after a complaint under the disability discrimination act, the government of South Australia gave an undertaking that all new buses in the Adelaide fleet would be fitted with ramps. As part of the federal budget it was announced that the government would purchase 160 new O-Bahn capable buses. The O-Bahn was built in the early 1980s and its vehicles are not accessible and, I understand, cannot be converted. My questions are:

1. Will the new buses be fully accessible on both the O-Bahn route and other roads, consistent with the government's commitment in 1996?

2. What proportion of the O-Bahn fleet will be disability accessible in four years?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (14:38): I will refer those questions to the appropriate minister in another place and bring back a response.