Accessible public transport

Standards for accessible public transport

The Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (the Transport Standards) are regulations under the Disability Discrimination Act which must be applied to the provision of public transport services.

All Australian public transport jurisdictions are required to comply fully with the Transport Standards by 2032, in a staged approach.

Accessible Public Transport Action Plan

In December 1995, the Department of Transport (now Department for Planning and Infrastructure) published "Going Out and Getting There: Action Plan for Accessible Public Transport for People with Disabilities in Perth", which was developed under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

The Action Plan focussed principally on policy and planning, buses, ferries, trains and taxis. It also addressed issues relating to school buses, community transport and the pedestrian environment. The intent of the Action Plan was to remove discrimination in the provision of existing public transport services as well as providing for accessible public transport in the planning of new initiatives.

The Department won the Prime Minister's National Access Award in 2000.

The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and Public Transport Authority have ongoing responsibility for implementing the reforms contained in the Action Plan.

For more information on the State's Accessible Public Transport Action Plan, please contact the Department for Planning and Infrastructure on 9216 8000.

Review and evaluation

In accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act, an evaluation of the Action Plan is to be completed every 3-5 years.

In 2001, English Kretzschmar & Associates conducted an independent external evaluation.

The main objective of the review was to determine how effective the Department had been in providing equal access to the facilities and services it provided. The evaluation demonstrated that the Department had implemented most of the reforms and was highly effective in monitoring the implementation.

In 2004, the Department undertook an internal review and found that about three-quarters of the recommendations had been fully addressed. The remaining actions are being implemented progressively, together with subsequent initiatives for improving the accessibility of public transport for people with disabilities.