2. PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
Disabled people from throughout New Zealand made submissions to the Inquiry about their everyday use of public land transport. The stories that follow report the lived experiences of 12 disabled people who are seeking improvements to achieve fully accessible journeys.
These experiences graphically illustrate the major themes arising through the Inquiry: the accessibility, availability, affordability and acceptability of public land transport, and the importance of training to achieving an accessible public land transport system.
I’m a wheelchair user and frequent traveller on public transport.
Many of the bus trips I have made over the past two and a half years have been successful and comfortable journeys. However, my experience with some transport providers has been so unpleasant I have stopped trying to use them.
Although I am a fairly confident person, it’s very difficult to go down to a bus stop and think “am I going to be able to get on a bus today?”
When it comes down to it, all the accessible vehicles in the world won’t make a difference without good service and positive attitudes on the part of the bus companies and drivers.
Newlands have been really accommodating of my needs. I am able to get to work on the bus because they are willing to schedule a low-floor bus on my route every morning.
I also use wheelchair accessible taxis (WATs) and find the fares prohibitive. I have a good level of income but the fares seriously restrict my travel and participation.
On a number of occasions I have insisted on being unloaded from a taxi because I have been offered nothing or little in the way of a seatbelt restraint. There is a Top less than adequate standard of safety for wheelchair passengers aboard WATs. I feel very concerned for those who cannot advocate for themselves and may not be travelling safely.
I support the development of mandatory standards and design guidelines in order to see real change in the provision of public transport.
I am 22 years old and Deafblind.
Communication is one of the biggest problems I have encountered when using public transport.
I use taxis with the help of communication cards. This usually works well, but some drivers become impatient, charge me incorrectly or take me to a different entrance from where I have asked – which can leave me lost.
The cost of public transport can prevent me doing things. My use of taxis is restricted by my budget to one or two return trips per week. I would like to do volunteer work but the cost of getting there makes this impossible.
I have been learning to catch a bus in the city using the communication card (shown below) and a map showing the stop I want.
Give me back this card
when the bus stops
Outside the bus exchange
Thank you
I’m DEAF and BLIND |
I was feeling good about using the bus until a driver refused to read the card. I am now concerned that some drivers will not help me.
I recently got Danny, my guide dog. This is great but creates new challenges. I’m still training with him and we have been practising catching buses. Drivers forget he is a ‘working’ dog and make a fuss of him.
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We had a new bus company start near us, which was great. My instructor arranged a visit where we explained to the drivers what help deaf and blind people need. But I guess while I’ve been busy in training with my dog the last few months, some of them have forgotten.
I would really like to see compulsory disability awareness training for all drivers of public transport and I would be happy to assist in providing this.
I am a self-employed freelance writer and person living with disability (wheelchair user).
From my perspective, transport inaccessibility is a major issue. Currently I don't drive although I have the ability to. Even so, I would prefer to use public transport due to my personal beliefs.
I currently can't use most public transport, particularly buses, when I'm in my mobility scooter.
Every day a large number of buses stop right across the road from where I live, but I can’t use them. If I could catch a low-floor, safe and efficient bus it would make the world of difference to me. I wouldn't have to rely on the generosity of family and friends to transport me around so much. I could just get on and do my business.
The only form of transport I can use while in my mobility scooter is wheelchair hoist vans. These vans, while useful, are not great in number and I can’t access them readily as they are in such high demand. Changes made to Total Mobility in 2000 have also meant that I have had to reduce my trips into town by taxi to a minimum.
Making public transport accessible and user-friendly may mean expense in the short term, Topbut in the long term it’s an investment for New Zealand’s ageing population.
Everyone benefits from having an accessible and barrier free transport environment and not just disabled people.
I hope with this report, that goal has moved one step closer.
I have stood on a railway platform so engrossed in my cellular texting I didn’t realise a public announcement sent everyone else to another platform for my commuter train home.
I have got on a bus to the airport and asked the driver what the fare was and not understood the answer although it was repeated several times.
I have listened to public address announcements on trains and on platforms explaining why services were running late, and not understood a word.
I have asked a bus driver how long it will take to reach a destination and having not understood the answer, sat in my seat and hoped.
All of this because I have a severe hearing loss which sees me struggle to hear properly, especially when there is background noise.
Difficulty getting information, especially about changing timetables and destinations, is what makes public land transport a little less accessible for me and for those with hearing disabilities.
Hearing loss is invisible and affects 400,000 New Zealanders, with the loss in nearly 250,000 of them qualifying as a disability.
People with hearing disabilities need information in visual form. For bus and rail stations, this means displaying it on electronic screens, benefiting people with normal hearing who missed the announcement.
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In trains and buses, screens can say what the next stop is, and what can be accessed from that stop (e.g. hospital, museum, shopping mall), which will benefit people without disabilities as well. A synthesised voice could relay the information for those with visual disabilities.
Fatima: Malo e lelei! Daniel: Talofa lava. We both work for the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind as Pacific Services Co-ordinators and we both have an eye condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa.
For blind people, organisation is key when using public transport. It requires keen time management to gather timetable information and to safely get to the right place at the right time without the benefit of sight. Too often blind people are let down by the lack of accessible information and sighted assistance that would make their journeys easier.
Sighted assistance is rarely provided when paying for or obtaining a ticket or locating a seat, the door or the right stop. There is a simple lack of acknowledgment by drivers or staff of taxis, buses and trains that they have blind passengers on-board. At times blind people are even ripped off by taxi drivers who take longer routes or fabricate the taxi fare.
For most blind people, timetables are a problem, with their lack of colour contrast and small font size. Poor lighting at bus and train stops doesn’t help either. Add in the fact that the information is provided in English only and getting the right time and place can become a nightmare for blind Pacific Islanders.
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Auckland is one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world with a high Pacific Island population and yet this is not reflected in transport timetables.
We will continue to advocate for Pacific People with visual impairments and to voice their opinions, issues and concerns.
I am 45 years old, married and have had severe Rheumatoid Arthritis since the age of 10.
I have very restricted upper-body movement and I am reliant on an electric wheelchair for my general mobility. I work full-time at the University of Otago.
Public transport has been a negative experience for me. Only once have I experienced a public transport system that met my needs and gave me true independence. That was in Vancouver, Canada. It was a joy!
In New Zealand my experiences have been largely negative, devaluing and at times dangerous.
Such experiences have included:
- waiting over three hours for an accessible bus, in one case having to call a wheelchair taxi at 10pm as I was still stranded
- sliding along the bus when belts failed to secure my wheelchair
- bus drivers driving off after telling me to wait at the back door to be loaded.
In Dunedin you cannot rely on public transport if you are disabled. There are few low-floor, ramped buses, they are not timetabled and no assurance can be given as to which route or what time they will run.Top This makes life impossible and has forced me to use mobility taxis and fundraise for a vehicle I can drive myself.
I have been disturbed by the discriminatory attitudes displayed by both the local bus companies (at all levels) and the local regional council. It has marginalised me as a Dunedin ratepayer and relegated me to a second class citizen.
2.7 Shane Gooderidge, Palmerston North
I have had a disability since birth. My disability has changed over time and I now use a power wheelchair with head controls.
I am fully dependent on public transport. However , I am passionate about my independence and I continue to work in the disability area.
Safety is a big issue. I have been put in many situations that are not safe. For example, many wheelchairs don’t have seatbelts. This can be dangerous in a taxi or on a bus, but many drivers don’t know this. I was once thrown out of my wheelchair because a driver had to brake suddenly and I suffered cuts and bruising to my face.
Maintenance is also a problem. In Palmerston North there have been problems with maintaining the ramps on accessible buses. It’s now at the stage where we have to ring Transit to make sure the bus for that route is wheelchair friendly.
It’s not just a matter of having accessible transport, it’s the journey to the bus stop or the train station and the bus stops themselves. Top Some bus stops are just grass verges at the side of the road – getting a motorised wheelchair across that in winter can be messy and difficult for the wheelchair user and the assisting driver.
Problems like these are enough to put many disabled people off using public transport.
Adequate funding for accessible public transport would allow disabled people to integrate with the wider community, to achieve independence and to improve their well-being.
I’m partially blind. When I catch a bus or train the biggest hurdle I face is signage.
How do I know when to get off the train when I can’t read the signs at each stop?
I need the bus to pull into the stop in order to read the number on the front. But, how do I catch the right bus when by the time I can read the number, it’s pulling out of the stop?
Without the aid of audio announcements or sighted assistance often I am unable to.
It would really help if all buses had the number on the side as well as the front. If they pulled into the stop for a minute I would have time to read the number and know it’s the right bus for me.
I really appreciate the audio announcement at the Wellington Station telling me the platform five minutes before each train departs. If trains also had an audio announcement I would use them a lot more. At the moment I rely on the conductor to tell me when I’ve reached my stop. Sometimes they remember, which is excellent, but often they forget.
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I also use taxis. Many taxi drivers aren’t familiar with local streets. Being asked to read a map when you’re partially sighted isn’t easy! If drivers were tested on street knowledge it would help to ensure those without sight get to the right destination.
If these changes could occur my ability to get around would be much easier.
Imagine experiencing anxiety or panic simply being around people or leaving the house.
Now try imagining boarding a bus or train – it’s crowded, the driver is gruff, you can’t find a seat, you start to feel fearful and there is not a friendly face in sight.
This is the experience of many New Zealanders who suffer from anxiety disorders, agoraphobia and social phobias.
I suffered severely from an anxiety disorder from the age of five until 38 years, which made going on any transport almost impossible. Over the last 23 years, through my work with the Phobic Trust of New Zealand, I have been struggling to ensure others do not suffer from the lack of knowledge and compassion that has been experienced by me and many thousands of people in New Zealand.
Approximately 20 percent of New Zealanders suffer from anxiety disorders at any one time. These can be incredibly disabling in many aspects of life, yet are largely unrecognised as a disability. This means that the number of people who experience difficulty using public transport is considerably underestimated.
People with phobias deserve both acknowledgement and understanding, without it they will continue to have negative experiences with public transport or avoid using it altogether.
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The Phobic Trust would like to see far more emphasis put on education for transport providers and drivers so that people can say “I’m having a panic attack” or “I’m feeling terrified” without fear of being laughed at or ridiculed.
It’s as simple as good customer service – a friendly, helpful driver will always make a passenger feel welcome.
I am a disabled woman who was born with Cerebral Palsy. I live in my own home and receive support from paid workers.
I needed a break and saw the advertisement for ‘$2 day’ on Tranz Metro. It was important to me because I don’t have a lot of money, but I can afford a two dollar trip.
I went to Porirua station and waited for the train. When it arrived two Tranz Metro workers told me there were no wheelchairs allowed and my chair was too heavy. I asked them what they meant. They said it was a new rule and no motorised wheelchairs or scooters were allowed on trains. I was so angry I couldn’t say anything in case I said something I might regret, so I left the station.
Now I cannot use the train, I feel trapped in Porirua. I am unable to use the bus services and cannot afford taxi fares to take me outside Porirua. The average weekly cost of subsidised taxi fares from my home to the Porirua centre is fifty dollars a week. I had planned to look into doing volunteer work in Wellington, but I cannot do this now.
I cannot visit friends in Kapiti or Wellington.
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I cannot visit Wellington for social events.
I feel very angry.
We are all human beings and we all want a life.
It’s unfair that disabled people cannot access public transport. I did not choose to have a disability but feel I have to pay for being disabled.
I am affected by a number of conditions including Fibromyalgia and I received a serious head injury at 14 from a car accident.
Fibromyalgia causes extreme fatigue, pain and muscle weakness and means I can walk only short distances. Because of this I don’t get out much and when I do I mostly rely on taxis. Sometimes I’m well enough to use buses, but steps can make this difficult.
There is one mobility bus in New Plymouth. It has a low floor, but inside are three levels which require stepping up. The seats are uncomfortable and difficult to manage. All Taranaki bus services are privately owned and tailored to what pays rather than to needs.
The Council funds a subsidy for the disabled and elderly in New Plymouth but there have been cuts in both the frequency of buses and the routes covered.
The Total Mobility taxi voucher system is good and enabling. However, taxi vouchers cannot be used between towns, not even for medical visits. Someone in Auckland can go to a social event on the other side of town for half price but someone in Waitara has to pay full fare to go the shorter distance to the doctor or hospital at New Plymouth.
In Taranaki, only taxi fares under twenty dollars are half price. This means paying full price for taxis most of the way to the airport and some meetings, and even at half price it’s not cheap!
We need back our rail service. The trains were comfortable, accessible and went to many places.
