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Notice of Inquiry: Equal access to wheelchair accessible taxi services

Final report available

Pursuant to its function under section 67(1)(g) of the Disability Discrimination Act, to promote an understanding and acceptance of, and compliance with, the Act, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has decided that the Disability Discrimination Commissioner should conduct an inquiry on equal access to wheelchair accessible taxi services, as detailed below in this Notice of Inquiry.

Submissions in response to this notice should be received by 3 July 2001. 

Submissions are preferred by email if possible, to disabdis@humanrights.gov.au, but may also be made by mail to Disability Rights unit, HREOC, GPO Box 5218 Sydney 1042.

See the submissions page for submissions received so far (updated 23 July)

Background to this inquiry

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) has received a number of complaints from time to time under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), and a larger number of less formal representations, regarding delays or unreliability in having taxi bookings met for people with disabilities who require taxis to be wheelchair accessible.

The draft Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport (approved in principle by the Australian Transport Council in 1996 but which await authorisation) include a requirement that response times for accessible vehicles are to be the same as for other taxis. This was stated in the draft Standards as being required to be achieved within five years of the date of authorisation of the Standards.

So long as Standards remain unauthorised, the existing general non-discrimination provisions of the DDA remain applicable. These provisions clearly make it unlawful to provide less prompt or less reliable service to passengers with disabilities than other passengers. Equally clearly, this is subject to an exception where and to the extent that achieving equal service would impose unjustifiable hardship.

A major reason for the co-operative development of the draft Accessible Public Transport Standards - by public and private sector transport providers, disability community representatives, transport regulators and HREOC - was the undesirability, for transport providers and consumers alike, of transport accessibility being determined through litigation and the uncertain application of the general non-discrimination provisions of the DDA.

HREOC continues to regard the Standards and the co-operative method of their development as the appropriate means for planning the transition over time to accessible public transport systems for Australia. However, although HREOC understands that there are positive prospects for authorisation of Accessible Public Transport Standards during 2001, the fact remains that standards are not yet in force and have now been delayed substantially beyond the initial expectations of all parties concerned.

This has meant that:

 

• certainty of rights and responsibilities remains to be achieved
• the reviews of the operation and effectiveness of the Standards (including in relation to taxi accessibility), which were scheduled to occur five years after the introduction of the Standards, have yet to occur.

 

HREOC has therefore decided to authorise the Disability Discrimination Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into the issues set out below in this Notice of Inquiry.

Issues for comment

Response times: Are response times significantly longer for passengers requiring wheelchair accessible taxis than other passengers making taxi bookings in any part of Australia?

Proportion of taxi fleets accessible: What proportion of existing taxi fleets is wheelchair accessible?

Are these proportions sufficient: Is the proportion of taxi fleets which is wheelchair accessible insufficient in any areas of Australia to enable services to be provided to passengers requiring wheelchair accessible taxis, with equivalent reliability and waiting times to those for other passengers booking taxis? If so, what proportion of taxi fleets being accessible would be sufficient?

Measures to ensure sufficient proportion accessible: What measures have transport authorities taken or could they take to ensure that a sufficient proportion of taxi fleets is accessible?

Universal taxi: If 100% fleet accessibility (the "universal taxi" approach) is necessary or desirable to ensure fully equal access to services (whether to achieve access to hailed services as well as booked services, or to reduce problems regarding priority for wheelchair user passengers, or to increase general public acceptance of wheelchair accessible vehicles, or for other reasons), what measures may be feasible and necessary (currently or within a reasonable period) to make possible the achievement of this level of accessibility?

Dedicated services: What experience or issues are there with operation of wheelchair accessible taxis as a dedicated service rather than also being available for mainstream service?

Economic factors: Are there any economic disincentives to provision of wheelchair accessible taxi services (either in provision of accessible vehicles or in their use to serve passengers using wheelchairs) which could be addressed by taxi regulatory authorities, by other relevant government agencies or by industry? In particular:

 

• Issues affecting capital or running costs of accessible vehicles
• Any other distinctive costs in providing wheelchair accessible services
• Fare structure and fares income received for wheelchair accessible taxis in comparison to other taxi services .

 

Effective use of accessible fleets: Are there any regulatory or technical measures being taken or which could be taken which would ensure that any given level of accessible taxi fleet meets demand for wheelchair accessible taxis more effectively? In particular:

 

• Possibilities for more effective implementation or enforcement of priority systems including issues affecting use of GPS and other new technologies, and barriers to effectiveness of priority systems
• Relevant performance standards and licence conditions
• Clarification of responsibilities of booking services, taxi operators, regulators and any other relevant industry participants
• Issues regarding competition or co-ordination of services
• Measures to ensure accessible taxis are complete with necessary equipment and driver skills to ensure accessible service with an equivalent degree of safety to other passengers is available in practice
• Issues regarding compatibility of different types or sizes of wheelchairs or other mobility aids with accessible cabs and possibilities for certification or consumer information regarding public transport compatibility of these aids
• Issues regarding co-ordination with or substitution for other modes of accessible public transport (generally or for specific purposes such as school transport), including relationship to "community transport" services.

 

It is expected that experience of users and the position of industry and government may vary between different jurisdictions. Information on areas where the goal of equal response times for accessible vehicles as for other taxis is being achieved or approached would be particularly welcome as this may assist in discussing what further actions might be appropriate in other areas.

Inquiry process

HREOC will receive submissions in response to this notice for a period of two months. Submissions should therefore be received by 3 July 2001.

Submissions are preferred by email if possible, to disabdis@humanrights.gov.au, but may also be made by mail to Disability Rights unit, HREOC, GPO Box 5218 Sydney 1042.

Submissions received electronically for this inquiry will be published on HREOC's web site to inform debate and discussion, except if and to the extent that people making submissions indicate that a submission or part of it is not for publication.

The further course of this inquiry will be determined in the light of submissions received but may include face to face discussions for interested parties in one or more locations.

Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM
Disability Discrimination Commissioner
2 May 2001