3 December 2007
Our buses are accessible but our bus stops aren’t:
HREOC to harness community action for improvement
Low-floor accessible buses are of little benefit to Australians with mobility disabilities if bus stops are not accessible as well.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) highlighted this issue today (the International Day of People with disabilities), as the deadline for the first Australian Accessible Transport Standards approaches.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Accessible Transport Standards require that 25 per cent of buses and bus stops must be accessible for people with disability by 31 December this year.
Most transport providers throughout Australia will meet or exceed this target. However, these accessible buses are of little use to people with mobility disabilities if bus stops are not accessible as well.
“Compliance of bus stops with the Standards has not been thoroughly audited, but anecdotal evidence suggests that compliance is well below the 25 per cent target,” said Human Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes.
Basic compliance requires that the curb at a bus stop must be level with the low floor of the bus so that people in a wheelchair or with other mobility issues can board easily, at the same level.
"It's not much use having an accessible bus if people with mobility disabilities can't get on board," said Commissioner Innes.
“HREOC has decided to address this issue by launching a public awareness project, Getting everybody on the bus, which will encourage schools, universities, and other sectors of the community to start auditing their local bus stops, and drawing non-compliance to the attention of the local council responsible.”
HREOC wishes to obtain community input on the way the campaign should be designed and developed. Suggestions on the design and development of the campaign, particularly from teachers, can be sent in by email to education@humanrights.gov.au
If the bus stops project is successful, the campaign could be extended to a broader range of community facilities.
"People with disabilities are members of the broader community, and this campaign will encourage the broader community to ensure that facilities are available to everyone, including people with disabilities," Commissioner Innes said.
"Over the coming years I'd like to see school and university students completing access audits as part of their curriculum work, and submitting the results to the providers of those facilities. Owners of offices, shops, playground equipment and transport systems would then have to explain why their facilities are only available to people who do not have disabilities," Commissioner Innes said.
Media contact: Brinsley Marlay (02) 9284 9656 or 0430 366 529
