Melbourne disability advocates calling for better access to public transport

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Melbourne disability advocates are calling for better access to public transport, saying too many tram routes are leaving commuters behind. In many cases, expensive upgrades to stops are rendered useless because of a mismatch with non-accessible trams running on supposedly wheelchair-friendly routes.

Transcript

00:00More than 20 tram routes criss-cross Melbourne's metro area, where right now not even one is

00:07fully wheelchair-accessible.

00:08It make me feel like I'm not a citizen.

00:15Christian Astorian shares my frustrations about trying to access trams.

00:19Under a government plan, public transport stations and stops were supposed to be fully

00:23accessible by 2022.

00:25With work behind schedule, the deadline has been pushed back to 2032.

00:29I've been living in Melbourne for over eight years, waiting and hoping for things to improve.

00:34This is a stop outside my work.

00:36It's one of 14 stops that run across this route that have been upgraded to create these

00:40so-called super stops.

00:41Problem is, no low-floor trams run along this route, so I'm left stranded.

00:47Christian Astorian has the opposite problem.

00:49There are no super stops along busy Sydney Road near his home.

00:53What's the point of having low-floor trams if you cannot access them?

01:03Just over a quarter of Melbourne's tram stops are upgraded to allow level-access boarding

01:07for those in wheelchairs, parents with trams and the elderly.

01:11The further out you go from the city, the harder it is to find wheelchair access.

01:16Just recently, Latrobe Street became the latest CBD thoroughfare to be upgraded with 12 accessible

01:21super stops.

01:22And the Transport Department says making the network more accessible is a priority, delivering

01:26a real difference across the state.

01:29It's pointed to $1.8 billion in funding for 100 new, more accessible next-generation G-Class

01:34trams rolling out on key routes from next year.

01:38But those trams don't run on the No. 35, otherwise known as the City Circle, even though these

01:43new stops on Latrobe Street are part of the same route.

01:46This would be my journey from work to home, if only I could get on board.

01:50When you're disabled, commuter frustration takes on a whole new, higher level.

01:54Advocates say they hope to see more momentum for change when a new operator takes over

01:59the tram network in December.

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended