ISSUES ON THE EDGE: TRANSPORT FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

This paper outlines the recent achievements of the South Australian government in provision of transport for the ageing and people with disabilities, and discusses issues being faced in doing so. Since the passage of the Passenger Transport Act, 1994, South Australia has come to be recognised nationally as a trend-setter in aspects of transport for the ageing and people with disabilities. There has been important progress in making regular public transport more accessible for people with physical disabilities, as well as in the provision of accessible taxi services and community transport in rural areas. But there is a great deal more to be done, and in pushing the boundaries the way it has, the South Australian Passenger Transport Board is being confronted with many issues. The issues discussed in this paper are: the determination of appropriate design standards, the deployment of wheelchair accessible buses that form only a part of the total bus fleet, the training and deployment of staff directly involved in service provision and the dilemmas involved in the provision of a wheelchair accessible taxi service that is as prompt and reliable as the regular taxi service.