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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-02-06 Daily Xml
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DISABILITY ACCESS, PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (14:55): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Transport Services questions regarding the accessibility of public transport vehicles.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I have, on a number of occasions in the past in this chamber and in other fora, raised my concerns about the accessibility or lack thereof of vehicles used to provide the state's public transport services. Of particular concern to me is the number of older vehicles being used on busy commuter bus routes and on substitute services during major works on the train and tram lines. At the present time, with major electrification works underway and the Adelaide Railway Station undergoing a major upgrade, many of these substitute services are or have been in use across metropolitan Adelaide.

There have been, as members are no doubt aware, many complaints about the substitute services and about many buses used to deliver those services. Chief amongst those complaints have been concerns about a lack of air conditioning on hot days and the poor accessibility of older buses brought back into service to manage demand. The buses, many of which have only a front door and which are characterised by steps, narrow aisles, and a lack of space for wheelchairs and other mobility aids, have proved extremely challenging for people with disability, the elderly and parents of young children in prams, in particular.

One recent example that illustrates this very clearly is the case of Eliza Cook, whose negative experiences have attracted some media attention. Ms Cook was left in a precarious position, a position which left her young son at risk, because a bus driver was too concerned about liability issues to assist her to board the old, inaccessible substitute bus. When she contacted the provider to complain, Ms Cook states that she was told to email the provider waiving liability, so that staff could assist her. Ms Cook said that the experience left her feeling that she was an unwelcome inconvenience, and that her son's safety was of little, if any, importance to the service provider.

This is the message that is being sent out every day to those with additional accessibility needs by the outdated and inaccessible bus service that is being provided to them, not just on substitute services but on any route being serviced by these old, inaccessible and unsafe vehicles. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is the minister concerned that staff providing public transport services are unable, or believe they are unable, to offer assistance to people with additional accessibility needs?

2. Is the minister concerned that in many cases the need for this assistance arises only due to some of the old, unsafe and inaccessible buses being used to provide public transport services in this state?

3. Will the minister undertake to ensure that staff providing public transport services receive appropriate and consistent advice and training regarding assisting people with these needs?

4. Will the minister undertake to ensure that public transport services are only provided using vehicles that are safe and accessible by phasing out the use of poorly maintained, older vehicles to manage demand?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:58): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. I undertake to take that to the Minister for Transport Services in another place and bring back a response, but I will say one thing. In relation to the final question asked by the Hon. Ms Vincent, of course the government is committed to removing, over time, those old vehicles that do not have easy accessibility for people with disability. We have made that commitment in the past.

I believe that our transport fleet—certainly in terms of buses and trains—is about 88 to 92 per cent accessible already, and I think the plan is to have it 100 per cent accessible by 2020. However, as I said, I will take those questions to the minister in another place and bring back a more detailed answer for the honourable member.

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