Human Rights Commission calls for better access for disabled persons using taxi services

12/11/2007

The Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission today launched a report on the accessibility of taxi services in Victoria and called on both the taxi industry and Government to renew their commitment to improving removing barriers to equitable access.

The Time to Respond: Realising Equality for people with a disability utilising taxi services report identifies aspects of the provision of taxi services that discriminate against people with a disability, and outlines recommendations aimed at facilitating inclusion of people with disabilities.

“Creating equal opportunity does not mean providing identical treatment to every person and every group but that they be treated differently in order to generate an equal and just outcome,” said Commission Chief Executive Officer, Dr Helen Szoke.

“And the right to be free of discrimination is protected right under Victoria’s Human Rights Charter.”

Time to Respond was well-received by David Craig, Executive Officer for Action for Community Living. “The report proposes overdue regulatory approaches and education and service development strategies that aim to lift service provision for wheelchair users to the same level enjoyed by other Victorians,” he said.

Tricia Malowney, the Chair of the Victorian Women with Disabilities Network Board said that people with disabilities have the same aspirations as other Victorians. “For many of us, a reliable taxi service is fundamental to ensuring that we are able to participate fully in employment, in education and in community life,” she said.

Sharing his experiences, Robert Pask, a regular user of taxis offered,” I believe the training of drivers is an issue as many refuse to pick me up but even for those who are willing, many do not have experience assisting people in wheelchairs. Also, the complaint system needs to be streamlined and complaints should be able to be made over the phone and not have to be in writing.”

Dr. Szoke noted that taxi services must evolve to complement or fill gaps in people’s current access to other forms of public transport and that currently, standards that apply to the taxi industry in the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport do not clearly articulate and effectively plan to achieve equality in access to taxi services.

“While there is the need for a long-term strategy to address systemic discrimination, the industry must examine its liability in relation to the Disability Standards now,” said Dr Szoke.

The Commission’s recommendations include enforcing an equal response time between regular taxis and Wheelchair Accessible Taxis (WATs), establishing an advisory committee to provide advice and feedback to the Victorian Taxi Directorate (VTD) and the taxi industry, and to improve service provision through driver education and training, among others.

Media contact: Ian Row, (03) 9281 7138 or 0408 126 396