Making public transport more accessible for people who face mobility challenges
Overview
About 20 per cent of Victorians have some type of disability and about one third of these people, or 6 per cent, report that this affects their access to public transport. Other people, for example, parents with young children, also need public transport that is easy to use. The demand for accessible public transport will rise as the population ages: one in four people will be over the age of 60 by 2021, compared with one in six in 2001.
In September 2006 the government published Accessible Public Transport in Victoria—Action Plan 2006–2012 (the Action Plan). According to the business case underpinning the Action Plan, its objectives were to apply the disability standards and to enable people with a disability to use public transport safely, effectively and with dignity.
This audit examined whether the department has been effective in making existing public transport services more accessible for people with a disability.