PROVIDING A TAXI SERVICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

People in wheelchairs have undoubtedly seen a big improvement in their lives as a result of the introduction of demand responsive accessible taxi services, particularly as these services are largely funded through government subsidised vouchers provided to the user. However, it cannot be said that people in wheelchairs enjoy the same quality of taxi service available to the able-bodied. Accessible taxi services have always had difficulty providing a prompt and reliable service. The Transport Systems Centre has been funded by the South Australian Passenger Transport Board to examine the operations of Adelaide's accessible taxis. This paper presents some of the preliminary findings of that study, focusing in particular on the extent of delays in the provision of service. The paper then discusses the reasons for these delays and some of the options to address the problem. The options are grouped in the following categories: making better use of existing licences, increasing the number of accessible taxi licences, introducing generic taxi licences designed primarily to service the regular market but with a wheelchair capability, and finally removing the monopoly of taxis over the provision of demand-responsive wheelchair accessible services. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see IRRD abstract no. E200069.