Greg Killeen, disability advocate, has released part 2 of his series on accessible public transport in Australia. In this part he discusses coaches, school buses and charter buses.
He reports that the majority of Australia’s private coach companies have very few accessible coaches for people with a disability requiring the use of a mobility aid. His investigation has also found that significant advance booking need to be made to avail an accessible vehicle. On a positive, his findings reveal a better performance from State government coach services in rural and regional areas, which is pleasing, though obviously driven by the need to comply with the milestones stipulated within the transport standards.
Greg goes on to discuss the performance of each State in terms of provision of accessible ‘dedicated school bus services’, which are generally excluded from the transport standards.
On a pleasing note, Greg reports that 80% of Melbourne’s bus services are wheelchair accessible on weekdays and if a student with a disability requires accessible transport where these buses are not available then they can access assistance via a conveyance allowance though the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
Please read the entire article here as this series is a great read and very informative.
by Lee Wilson, Disability Access Consultant