Greens promise a dedicated wheelchair taxi service and more disabled parking

Pitchka said :

I have the pleasure of watching the same guy in a suit, park his white Commodore in the 2 hour car spots just outside my workplace window, leisurely take out his disabled parking permit, look around for a bit to see if anyone is paying attention to him, place it on his dashboard, then he, along with his passenger, get out, grab there man bags, and walk into the coffee shop for their daily coffee…

The same thing happens all over town, every day.

Disabled spots should be reserved for wheelchair users. And mis-users of disabled permits should be publicly flogged.

Take a video of this prick and give one copy to Parking operations and a second copy to whoever issues the disability permits.

why don’t they just reduce the annual fees for disabled taxis? Then as the taxi companies upgrade their fleet, they will bring in wheelchair taxis because they are financially better off.

I have the pleasure of watching the same guy in a suit, park his white Commodore in the 2 hour car spots just outside my workplace window, leisurely take out his disabled parking permit, look around for a bit to see if anyone is paying attention to him, place it on his dashboard, then he, along with his passenger, get out, grab there man bags, and walk into the coffee shop for their daily coffee…

This guys works in my dept, i know for a fact that he has no disabilities, dare i say he may be using a relatives permit (mum/dad etc)..

Im keen on giving his knee caps a workout, just to mnake his use of the permit legit.

joingler said :

Partial agreement. Perhaps only have the taxis run between 7am and 10pm?

How would the government avoid litigation for discrimination, for keeping people in wheelchairs at home all night? If the Greens were to somehow get this up (and I have no doubt they are doing what the Greens do, which is propose impossible programs, knowing they will NEVER get up) it would be a pain in the backside for any government. Simply won’t happen. Greens are safe fantasising on this one …

Masquara said :

24-hours a day, salaried drivers? (equitable treatment would mean the disabled would have to be picked up from parties etc at 4 am, just like an able person). Totally regressive, ridiculously expensive, and unnecessary. Let’s see – you’d have to have three or four taxis available to reasonably service the wheelchair public without making them wait unreasonable times, 24 hours a day. That’s, say, 18 full-time drivers to cover leave entitlements. That’s already, what, at least $2 million? Plus the cost of the four cars & petrol. On an ambitious assumption of 100 trips a day, that’s about $65 per trip, including trips from home one kilometre to the shops. Versus an average of about $15-20 a trip in a commercial taxi. Must the rate-payers bear this in the name of some loopy Green value: “anything concerning the disabled must not have the dollars counted, or we’re all being unethical”.

Partial agreement. Perhaps only have the taxis run between 7am and 10pm? It would cut the amount of drivers needed, and still provide the needs for most of the people wheelchair bound. Keep the existing taxis from 10pm to 7am to provide services when needed.

A cheaper alternative would have all buses guaranteed wheelchair accessible. At least half buses already are so it wouldn’t be as expensive. And I think they are environmentally friendlier which would keep the Greens happy

24-hours a day, salaried drivers? (equitable treatment would mean the disabled would have to be picked up from parties etc at 4 am, just like an able person). Totally regressive, ridiculously expensive, and unnecessary. Let’s see – you’d have to have three or four taxis available to reasonably service the wheelchair public without making them wait unreasonable times, 24 hours a day. That’s, say, 18 full-time drivers to cover leave entitlements. That’s already, what, at least $2 million? Plus the cost of the four cars & petrol. On an ambitious assumption of 100 trips a day, that’s about $65 per trip, including trips from home one kilometre to the shops. Versus an average of about $15-20 a trip in a commercial taxi. Must the rate-payers bear this in the name of some loopy Green value: “anything concerning the disabled must not have the dollars counted, or we’re all being unethical”.

Rawhide Kid Part3 said :

I don’t think we need more Disability parking spaces. What we need is clearly signed Wheelchair ONLY Disabled Parking spaces. Too many times I’ve seen Disabled Parking spaces that are designed for wheelchairs only to be taken up by uprights. (people not in wheelchairs). Many a time I’ve gone to a surgery or shopping center to park only to find all the so called Disabled Parking spaces taken by Uprights and had to either cancel my appointment or postpone my shopping because I cant risk parking in a normal space as I will and have been unable to get back into my car. I’m bemused as to why some people have a Disable Parking label as I often see them park in Malls in Disable parking spots only to see that have been walking around the Mall for quite some time. Why do hey need the label? Don’t get me wrong. I know there are some genuine Disabled uprights out there. Its just the ones that seem to realty not need one that gets me.

Agree. All the disability parking places should be exclusively for wheelchair dependant people. While the wheelchair rides in the boot it has to be taken to the side of the car to allow the disabled person to access it and most times other cars are parked too close. I was at Costco last week with my disabled passenger and there would be about 10 disbled car parking spaces – all were filled but I later didn’t see any other wheelchairs other than the one I was pushing in the store. The whole system needs to be reviewed.

I don’t think we need more Disability parking spaces. What we need is clearly signed Wheelchair ONLY Disabled Parking spaces. Too many times I’ve seen Disabled Parking spaces that are designed for wheelchairs only to be taken up by uprights. (people not in wheelchairs). Many a time I’ve gone to a surgery or shopping center to park only to find all the so called Disabled Parking spaces taken by Uprights and had to either cancel my appointment or postpone my shopping because I cant risk parking in a normal space as I will and have been unable to get back into my car. I’m bemused as to why some people have a Disable Parking label as I often see them park in Malls in Disable parking spots only to see that have been walking around the Mall for quite some time. Why do hey need the label? Don’t get me wrong. I know there are some genuine Disabled uprights out there. Its just the ones that seem to realty not need one that gets me.