ࡱ> KMJq 5bjbjt+t+ -bAA1] d T V V V V V V $E 9dz z >>>>T T >|>: oT FL`>J 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? AQA has long held the belief that the response times for Wheelchair Accessible Taxis are significantly longer in some areas of Sydney and other parts of NSW than in other areas. There are blackspots in Sydney where the service is quite unacceptable. The level of service may at some time of the day be acceptable, but of an evening and during weekends there is no doubt that people who rely on WATs as their means of transport are let down. Our anecdotal evidence was supported by the 2000 NSW Department of Transport demand survey. Some of the Sydney areas with poor service include - Manly Warringah, Western Sydney (Penrith and the lower Blue Mountain), the St George district and the south Western area (Campbelltown). Service expectation and acceptance. Since the inception of the WAT Service in 1981, WAT passengers were advised to book a taxi the day before it was needed but also expect a delay of around 1 hour. Many people with disabilities accepted this as it was a new service and there were few available WATs. since these times the expectations of people with disabilities have increased along with various government legislation, anti-discrimination acts and access codes based on access for all and disability rights. The WAT Service is a crucial link in services for many people with disabilities. This is especially so when people with disabilities need to get home to meet their personal care attendants [PCA]. If there is a delay getting a WAT, especially in the evenings, people with disabilities are under a threat of being left to stay in their wheelchairs all night. It is very distressing and frustrating being stranded and unable to get a WAT for 2 to 3 hours. Other areas of NSW with significantly poorer response times are Wollongong and Newcastle. There are numerous reasons for the poor response times. First and foremost is the fact that the majority of WATs do not operate on the 0200 network. This makes it impossible to trace their whereabouts at any given time. We estimate that 0200 has only about a third of the fleet to call on in peak periods. These vehicles (and drivers) spend their entire time doing private work and have been assisted in this by 0200 who has given out large batches of job numbers in advance to the drivers. Secondly the majority of wheelchair accessible taxis are off the road at nights and on weekends. Over the past few years there has been a proliferation of private operators running wheelchair accessible taxis. Taxi co-ops have leased out many of their plates to private individuals to operate as a private business. The taxi industry now appears to have lost control of these vehicles. The drivers of these vehicles claim they cannot be made to work at any set time or area as they are their own boss. Thirdly a number of vehicles are not available at peak periods because they have school runs which are quite lucrative for the drivers concerned. These are generally carried out on a contract basis with the Department of School Education and once again appear to be outside the control of the taxi industry. While AQA does not doubt the dedication and professionalism of the majority of WAT drivers there are systemic problems which must be eliminated Proportion of taxi fleets accessible: What proportion of existing taxi fleets is wheelchair accessible? All of the problems with a lack of WATs could be rectified if there were enough WATs on the road. Unfortunately this is not the case. Last year AQA undertook a survey of WAT services across NSW and the results are below; - Town/RegionPopulationNo of TaxisNo of WATsNo of People per WATRankingAlbury41 49128313 80017Armidale21 3301637 0006Ballina16 056844 0001Bathurst26 02927126 00027Broken Hill20 96321121 00023Central Coast227 657731317 40021Cessnock17 5401428 5009Coffs Harbour & Sawtell35 4171849 00010Dubbo30 10220215 00018Foster-Tuncurry15 943744 0001Goulburn21 29328121 00023Grafton16 56214116 50019Griffith14 2091127 1007Katoomba17 70022117 70022Kiama11 7115111 70014Kurri-Kurri12 5556112 55515Lismore28 3802739 50011Maitland50 10831225 00025Newcastle270 324157552 00030Nowra23 8231346 0004Orange30 70531130 70028Port Macquarie33 7091574 7003Queanbeyan25 68916126 00026Richmond-Windsor21 3178210 60012Singleton12 519626 2505Tamworth31 86522310 60012Taree16 70214116 70020Tweed37 77520312 50016Wagga Wagga42 8482958 0008Wollongong219 761127544 00029 As can be seen two of the largest regional areas of NSW have the worst ratio of WATs. In Newcastle there are only five (5) WATs in a total fleet of 157, while in Wollongong there are only five (5) WATs out of 127. Some other areas, Ballina, Port Macquarie and Foster-Tuncurry have much higher level of WATs up to a quarter of the fleet. AQA has never received a complaint regarding the response times in these regions so it can only be presumed that this proportion of accessibility is adequate. 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? AQA believes that the figures provided speak for themselves. In some instances barely 3-4% of the fleet is accessible. People who use WATs must have the same rights as the rest of the population. They should be able to book a taxi by phone, wait at a taxi rank or hail a cab from a street corner and they should not be required to wait longer for a taxi than people who do not use wheelchairs. 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? AQA believes that the NSW Department of Transport and successive Ministers have not taken sufficient steps to ensure an adequate WAT fleet is available. We believe that additional competition could be of assistance. Breaking up of monopolies would enable other operators into the market and should be of assistance to WAT users. In 1997 the then NSW Minister for Transport announced an additional 400 WAT licenses. In July 2000 a further 200 WAT licences were announced. Operators of WATs receive considerable benefits, but despite this the vast majority of these licenses have not all been taken up. AQA believes that the simplest measure available to regulators of taxi services to ensure that an adequate proportion of taxis are wheelchair accessible is to require all taxis to be accessible by a date which is acceptable to WAT users and reasonable for stakeholders. Unfortunately our previous experience of the WAT industry does not fill us with hope. 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? AQA generally support the concept of the 'universal taxi'. We understand that it currently operates in other parts of the world, for example England, and as such there is little reason to not expect a similar success here. We believe that given a reasonable lead time, approximately 10-12 years, there is nothing, except a lack of political will from stopping the NSW Government from implementing a 'universal taxi'. 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? WAT Services must have bookings for people with disabilities as their number one priority. Obviously, when there arent the jobs to cover then the WATs should cover the mainstream work. In NSW, WAT Operators are provided with discounted licences as an incentive to operate their accessible vehicle. If drivers/operators dont want to pick up people with disabilities then they should not drive/operate these vehicles. 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. The universal taxi would remove any capital economic disadvantage as it would provide a levl playing field for all the taxi industry. AQA is aware of no evidence that shows that the running costs of a wheelchair accessible taxi is more or less expensive to operate than a taxi, of a similar design, that fails to meet the needs of wheelchair users. AQA rejects any approach for a fare differential for WATs payable by the customer. We do not believe that operators do not lose out financially. We would however support a $5-6 loading and unloading allowance, payable by the government, for all WAT journeys as a means of compensating drivers for this time. It is inherently unfair for the WAT user to be expected to pay for this part of their journey. 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. AQA believes that strict enforcement of WAT licence conditions is required. There is considerable anecdotal evidence of WATs waiting at the airport and other 'high demand' areas instead of being available for people who use wheelchairs. Last year we had the case of many WATs being sub-contracted on Mother's Day to deliver flowers rather than wheelchair users. AQA heard of cases of some customers waiting 3-4 hours on that day for pre-booked taxis. AQA would recommend a Global Positioning System be implemented to ensure that WATs are available for people with disabilities. We understand that GPS is already in use in parts of Australia - including the Gold Coast. AQA believes that no one provider should be permitted to dominate a local market or control a disproportionate number of wheelchair accessible taxi licences. We would support the full disclosure of all ownership details of all taxi licences. 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