Thursday, December 10, 2009

No public transport to major hospitals

A person in a wheelchair or a person with a medium-sized pram is not able to catch public transport to The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Women's Hospital or the Children's Hospital in central Melbourne!

I even rang up Metlink who initially thought that this could not be correct but then had to agree that is impossible to get directly to these major hospitals in public transport. You can go to Fed Square, catch a tram up Swanston St to the University and then go back to Grattan St and catch another bus and then walk to the hospitals.

There are tram superstops outside each of these hospitals but no low-floor trams on these lines!

I spoke to a mother who has had to take her child repeatedly to the Children's Hospital and has found it a long walk with her pram. Apparently, it was suggested that she buy a small pram so that she can get on the tram - that is a compassionate approach from our society for someone with a sick child and without the money to buy a new pram!

Bus woes

Had to wait for 4 buses before a low floor bus with a working ramp came along. The first 2 were not low floor, the third bus was but the ramp was not working! Therefore, took almost 2 hours to get home - a distance of about 10 km. I could have made it home just in the wheelchair in that time.

Amazingly, a young guy waited with me the whole time (45 minutes) as he couldn't believe that it could be so difficult for a person in a wheelchair to catch a bus. Welcome to my world!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Taxi refuses to pick me up

Yesterday I rang to book a taxi but after waiting 15 minutes and the taxi company not being able to locate a taxi for me I went to the city to catch a bus instead. Just near the bus stop I saw a wheelchair taxi with some other taxis. I went up to the wheelchair taxi but the driver ignored me. A person not in a wheelchair did not see me but got into the taxi. I attracted the attention of this person and asked if he could catch one of the other taxis in the queue so he got out of the taxi and got into another one. The driver of the wheelchair taxi was then not able to continue ignoring me but stated that he would not take a person in a wheelchair despite him driving a wheelchair taxi. Other people in the vicinity became aware of our conversation and remonstrated with the driver who continued to say that he would not take a wheelchair.

Eventually I had to give up and go and catch a bus. I rang up the taxi company to complain as I had the taxi's number plate but was told that they could do nothing and I should complain to someone else, perhaps the taxi directorate.

Wheelchair taxis are of no use to me whatsoever!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Spoke too soon

The night after my last post I waited for a bus and when it arrived the ramp did not work so had to wait half an hour for the next bus.

Last night at 9:30 I waited 30 minutes for a bus in the freezing cold and when it arrived the automatic ramp didn't work again so couldn't get on the bus. It took me an hour and three quarters to get home by which time I couldn't talk due to being so cold.

Why is it that so many of the automatic ramps do not work? Is it that I am just unlucky or is it that so few people in wheelchairs travel on buses so they can get away with what appears to be a design or maintenance fault?

Why is it that I couldn't get a taxi in Carlton last night but when I went past the Casino there was a long line of wheelchair taxis waiting to take the punters home? How many of these people do you think were in wheelchairs?

What would it take to get the Government to take notice of the disabled and do something other than platitudes?

Why do we as a society not only tolerate but appear to encourage inequality even when all the evidence shows that inequality harms all of us, even the well-off?

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ventura's great service

This morning the automatic ramp on the bus was not working properly but I managed to scramble on board before the ramp folded up. The driver reported the problem to the depot and a mechanic was sent to my destination stop to ensure that I was able to get off without any problems. Ventura phoned twice to check I was OK.

A great busline!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Rydges Hotel doesn't cater for wheelchairs

At a conference at the Rydges Hotel on Swanston St, I asked to be directed to the disabled toilet. The girl on the desk told me that the hotel had no disabled facilities, had no rooms with disabled access and no disabled toilet. I eventually found a disabled toilet on the fourth floor, no thanks to the staff. The only way to access this hotel in a wheelchair is via the underground car park.

It is hard to believe that such a well known brand would make no attempt to cater for people in wheelchairs.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Public transport for the disabled is a joke

The Federal Disability Act of 1992 sets out compliance requirements for disabled access to public transport.

Compliance is to be achieved over a 30-year period from 2002, with interim progress requirements of 25%, 55%, 90% and 100% by the end of 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022 respectively.

There are some significant exceptions to this, such as trains and trams have until 2032 to achieve the last 10% of full compliance.

This means that by the end of 2012 only 55% of public transport has to be accessible by disabled people and it will be 2032 before all public transport is wheelchair friendly!

Currently 100 trams out of 451 in the fleet are low-floor trams accessible by wheelchairs. However, these can only be entered at special platform stops limiting their usefulness. Don't forget that many of these platform stops are on tram lines that don't have low-floor trams. It would appear that there are only low-floor trams on 4 routes (according to http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/Internet/transport.nsf/AllDocs/E74041B4E64DF676CA256FC6001AEFC6?OpenDocument). Why have special platform stops without low-floor trams - perhaps some genius in the government can explain that but it makes no sense to me whatsoever??

To make matters worse, low-floor trams have specialist maintenance needs, which are only available at 2 of the 8 tram depots meaning "It is difficult to guarantee that any particular service will have a low-floor tram, and for these reasons the approach has been to fully convert tram routes to low-floor operations." (letter from Patrick O'Neil, Chief of Staff, Office of the Minister for Public Transport and the Arts)

However, it will be 2032 before this needs to be completed!

We have lots of money to give to people as tax cuts and to give to private schools but no money for disabled access to public transport?

For example, the 2009-10 State Budget includes a $5 million commitment to speed up the delivery of up to 50 new low-floor trams. This "speeding up the delivery" means that the first of these low-floor trams will begin arriving in 2012/13. If "speeding up" is getting a new tram in 3-4 years I would hate to see the normal speed.

Scotch College is going to get an additional $16 million dollars from the government (http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/private-schools-cash-boost-20090908-fg0r.html) but we have only 5 million dollars to speed up tram deliveries!

And we live in a fair society? How come a couple of thousand students at one of the most expensive schools in Australia that is not lacking in facilities is able to get $16 million dollars and 300,000 people that the government admits have difficulty accessing public transport get a lousy $5 million!

Camberwell shops not for wheelchairs

The Camberwell Trader's Association's slogan is "we've got it all". However if you are in a wheelchair this is not true as almost 40% of the shops are not wheelchair accessible!

A staggering 145 shops out of a total of 373 businesses in the Camberwell Junction shopping area have steps that prevent wheelchair entry.

This situation is simply not allowed in the USA as legislation prevents this type of discrimination but apparently "it would be too expensive" to do the same here. Therefore, Australian businesses can discriminate to their heart's desire. Surprisingly, having to comply with anti-discrimination legislation in the USA hasn't led to the economic disaster that local legislators claim it would if introduced here.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Taxi absence

Called a taxi from a hotel where I was sheltering from the rain at 3:30 pm. After 45 minutes the taxi company could not find a taxi prepared to take me so could not give any estimate for how long I was going to have to wait. Therefore, I gave up waiting and had to go in the rain to the bus stop. On the bus I saw quite a few maxi-taxis driving around close to the hotel.

Why are there no taxis for people in wheelchairs (or taxis prepared to pick up wheelchairs)? This problem happens all the time in Melbourne but never, and I mean never, in Sydney. Wheelchair taxis are so unreliable in Melbourne that they are not a viable means of transport.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Good bus driver

The other night I just made it onto the bus before the storm broke and it rained the entire way home. As I was the last passenger on the bus, the driver very kindly went a little off route and dropped me off very close to home so that I didn't get as wet.

This is another example of Ventura being the good bus company!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Driver refuses to let me board bus

This morning I waited 20 minutes for the Sita (402) bus in Grattan St with another woman. Eventually the bus arrived and as the other woman boarded the bus driver said, "You can get on but I am running late so I don't have time to let the woman in the wheelchair on".

I heard this and had to argue strongly before the driver would let me get on the bus!

This is not the first time that this has happened with this bus route. I contacted the bus company (again) and they apologised (again) and said that the bus driver would be counselled/disciplined (again) but I have heard this before and nothing seems to get better.

I never have this problem with Ventura bus drivers - only ever with Sita bus drivers. There is a real corporate culture/attitude difference between these two bus companies. I would love to know if others have had problems with Sita?

Bus ramp again!

Stuck on the bus for 10 minutes last night when the bus ramp wouldn't work when we got to my stop. Eventually the driver managed to get the ramp down so that I could get off the bus! Otherwise I would have had to get a ramp brought from home to enable me to get home.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Carlton Post Offices

Neither of the 2 post offices in Carlton have wheelchair access. Despite reporting this to Australia Post almost 2 years ago, they are still "investigating" and we are still waiting for a response!

Roundabout traffic

On Sunday 16 August attending Melbourne Uni Open Day we parked in Peel Street. When crossing the large roundabout at the corners of Elizabeth Street and Flemington Road the island in Elizabeth St does not have a ramp so cannot cross the street at the lights. We have to fight the cars in the roundabout and force cars to stop in Elizabeth St just to cross the road.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Letters to the editor

To learn more about some of my views please read:

Don't make it harder for those who are disabled

On four wheels

Taken for ride

News stories


To learn more about my experiences please read the following news stories:

(Picture from article in The Australian 16 May 2009, titled "Barriers of the Mind")





Stops for disabled wait for low-floor trams

WorkFocus Australia and JobAccess celebrate 25000 enquiries

Next tram years away for disabled travellers

Stops wait for trams
Sunday Herald Sun 7 September 2008

Bus ramps

On 12 August when wheeling onto the 250 bus the ramp retracted leaving me stuck with the back wheels of my wheelchair hanging off the edge. I had to grab the rail to hold on and as my muscles are weak (the reason I am in a wheelchair) this was difficult and I badly strained all the muscles in my arm and back.

On the way home from work, the ramp on the bus did not work so I could not get onto the bus and had to wait half an hour for the next bus in the freezing cold.

Not a good day for public transport!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Lack of superstops

On 9 August, I caught a 109 tram from Port Melbourne to see my son playing in a concert in North Balwyn. After going through Richmond I asked the driver where the next superstop was so that I could get off the tram. Amazingly, the tram driver had no idea!

I had to go to the end of the line in Mont Albert to get off the tram, and then spent another hour getting to the concert under my own steam!