Time to respond
When you have a disability, taxi services are a critical means of public transport. Melbourne’s bus, tram and train networks will not be completely accessible for another twenty years. The Time to Respond reports discuss that despite recent reform to the taxi industry, waiting times and reliability continue to be serious barriers to accessible taxi services for people with disabilities.
Reports
In 2007, the Commission’s Time to respond report found that people with disabilities were not receiving good quality taxi services and that, as a result, their access to public life, employment and other aspects of daily life was unfairly limited.
Time to respond – three years on, was published by the Commission in October 2010 and involved a survey of 604 people with a disability. The research was undertaken in consultation with the Victorian Taxi Association and the Commission’s Disability Reference Group.
The 2010 report found that there is still much work to be done in improving:
- timeliness
- booking and payment methods
- access to conventional taxi services
- quality of taxi service related to driver knowledge
- customer perceptions of safety.
Submission to the Taxi Industry Inquiry - Jul 2012
In July 2012 the Commission made a submission to the Taxi Industry Inquiry’s Draft Report and Recommendations.
Our submission, Time to respond: Realising equality for people with a disability utilising taxi services focuses mandatory driver training on the needs of people with a disability and the Equal Opportunity Act 2010. We also strongly recommend the setting up of an independent, equitable regulator to improve accountability in the industry.
More information
We will continue to work with the Victorian Taxi Directorate and interested groups to continue the focus on improved accessibility to taxi transport for people with a disability. Please contact us for more information.