Victorian trams fall short on disability accessibility

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Victoria's tram network is falling short of national accessibility standards with a new report finding the government has done little to improve the system in the past five years. The review found people with mobility issues are often waiting longer for services leading some to say they feel neglected by the lack of progress.

Transcript

00:00Being close to public transport is one of the reasons Terri Veselink chose to live in Melbourne's north.

00:09It's made sense to me to be on a tram route.

00:12And the thought that I might not be able to use these trams anyway, it's just ridiculous.

00:17But the lack of accessible trams and stops has derailed her plans to stay in the area.

00:23I think it's a human rights issue. I think we're being left behind.

00:27A new Victorian Auditor-General's report has found just 29% of stops had raised level access,

00:34while 41% of trams had low enough floors, making just 18% of the city's network accessible,

00:41a 3% increase in five years.

00:44I've had the experience where I've been travelling with my husband.

00:48He's got off the tram and the doors have closed and taken off without me having a chance to get off.

00:53The numbers also show Victoria has fallen three years short of national laws to make tram stops compliant,

01:00and that it's on track to miss another deadline to make trams themselves accessible by 2032.

01:06The report found that commuters with mobility issues could be waiting an additional half an hour for their next tram service.

01:12It notes while the government has made plans to increase accessibility,

01:16it hasn't been met with funding and time allocations.

01:19We're shamefully behind in Victoria in making our public transport disability accessible.

01:24And the worst part about it is we have had decades and we've made such little progress.

01:29Our public transport system needs to be as accessible as it can be,

01:34particularly for people with a disability.

01:36Advocates continue holding hope that things will change.

01:40I really think they can do better.

01:42I really think they can do better.

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