Public transport should be public

November 13, 1991
Issue 

Public transport should be public

People with disabilities are again protesting at the continuing failure of government to acknowledge the needs of people with disabilities in planning for public transport.

Citizens for Accessible Public Transport (CAPT) was formed by a committed group of individuals who won't accept excuses for denial of access to this vital public asset. As cities grow and pollution and congestion increase, access to public transport will become more and more critical to mobility. CAPT members believe that demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience are appropriate and necessary because this issue is so important to our future and involves the denial of civil rights.

The United States and many European nations now recognise, as a matter of law, the importance of access to public transport for the whole community. Radical changes are now occurring and, most importantly, planning now reflects this enlightened perspective.

In NSW, however, bureaucrats' answers to these issues are embarrassed "buck passing" or a blustered reference to the valuable, but totally inadequate and prohibitively expensive, modified taxis scheme.

When Sydney radio's Mike Carlton highlighted the lack of access for the elderly and people with disabilities to Lewisham station after a $1.5 million renovation, transport minister Bruce Baird's cavalier response was that there was no point in making that station accessible when all the others were not. The minister for transport is currently overseeing a $2.6 billion upgrade of the state rail network.

The government's consistent arrogance was again apparent earlier this year when contracts were signed for a new fleet of buses: none provides wheelchair lifts.

The ABS survey of 1988 indicated that over 700,000 people in NSW have mobility handicaps, yet this government is treating their needs in a manner bordering on contempt. Many of these people are totally excluded from the transport network; instead they impose on family and friends, or pay for expensive parking or taxis. Others simply relinquish their right to work and interact in society by going out infrequently and only when necessary. This social isolation creates an invisibility which appears to validate official apathy.

CAPT demands of bureaucrats and politicians that public transport should be planned to cater to the needs of the public as a whole. This, above all, is not an issue requiring sympathy for an unfortunate few. Rather, it is an abuse of the rights of many and when seen as such should trigger the community's collective indignation, demanding action in a manner which befits the denial of fundamental rights.

CAPT needs your support — now.
Ian Cooper is the convener of CAPT. CAPT can be contacted on (02) 746 3230.

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