Northern Weekly - 29 August 2011

VICTOR Windsor would love to be able to jump aboard a tram. But being blind, deaf and getting about with the aid of a walker, Mr Windsor, 69, finds the steps on most Melbourne trams too hard to climb and ‘‘superstops’’ (raised platforms with ramp access) too few and far between in the northern suburbs.

Instead, the Epping man relies on trains, taxis and lifts from friends to make his way around.

Negotiating the public transport system can be a struggle for Melbourne’s most vulnerable passengers. Able-bodied people can run to catch an approaching tram and leap through closing doors, if they choose.

But the numbers are stacked against people with a disability.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates there are 194,700 Melburnians who have hearing loss and 41,300 who have lost some or all of their sight. About 82,500 people use a mobility aid to get around outside their home and 20,400 use a wheelchair.

Yet of 1760 tram stops around the city, only 330 are accessible for people with a disability.

The only tram to the northern suburbs, the number 86, terminates at Bundoora. It is serviced mainly by 1980s-era B-class trams with steps.

Public transport operators have been working to improve accessibility and since 2002, all new public transport vehicles and infrastructure must comply with disability standards.

But for passengers in wheelchairs, such as South Morang resident Trevor Carroll, trams are still almost impossible to use in the northern suburbs.

A few accessible stops have been built along the No. 86 tram route, but as Mr Carroll points out, passengers need to have an accessible stop at the end of their journey and so far they are few.

Mr Carroll, who represents Disability Justice Advocacy and the Whittlesea Disability Network, has become very familiar with Metlink’s website, which he scours to plan his journeys around trams without steps.

“If you’re at an accessible tram stop but there isn’t a low-floor tram, you just can’t use it,’’ he said.

Planning trips around appointments was difficult because disabled passengers had limited options. They had to take an indirect public transport route, wait for a low-floor tram to arrive at their stop or call a taxi.

While many people with disabilities are entitled to half-price taxi fares, a return city trip from the northern suburbs still costs about $60, 10 times the cost of a daily concession fare.

The Public Transport Ombudsman has been investigating accessibility. Ombudsman Janine Young said she wanted to improve tram use for anyone disadvantaged when using public transport, from parents with prams to someone with a broken leg.

Ms Young said she was working with the disability sector and transport providers to make public transport more user-friendly for people with mobility, vision and hearing problems.

‘‘It’s heartening when we hear of a tram driver who has helped someone to the curb,’’ she said. ‘‘But we do hear stories about someone asking a driver to tell them when they’re approaching their stop, but the driver doesn’t and the poor person has to make their way back.’’

She urged anyone who found using public transport difficult because of a disability to contact transport providers and her office.

Able Australia chief executive Celestine Hare said clients with hearing and vision impairments struggled to get on and off trams without help.

‘‘We have had some clients try to show communication cards to drivers, asking them to let them know when their stop is, but the drivers have not been responsive,’’ she said. ‘‘Our clients generally find that trains are much easier to use,’’ she said.

Yarra Trams spokesman Colin Tyrus said staff were being trained to better help the disabled, and were working with Vision Australia and advocacy groups.

A new tram is on trial along route 109, which runs from Box Hill to Port Melbourne.

Its low floor aligns with platform stops to provide easy access for the elderly, people in wheelchairs, parents with prams and anyone who would normally struggle to walk up tram steps.

The tram has orange priority seats and floor markings outlining the best place for a wheelchair user to travel.

The government has committed to providing another 50 low-floor trams by the end of next year, although older trams with stairs will still dominate the fleet.

Without greater access to low-floor trams and superstops, people such as Victor Windsor will continue to rely on taxis and other people to drive them about.

“It is getting harder for me to use public transport because of my walking frame, balance and eyesight,’’ said Mr Windsor. “I used to go out a lot more, but people come and pick me up now because they don’t think it’s safe.’’

The Public Transport Ombudsman can be contacted on 1800 466 865.