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| Sandra Kanck Deputy Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
Parliament Index |
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Legislative
Council |
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| Sandra Kanck Deputy Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
Parliament Index |
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The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Transport and Urban Planning a question about the use of a blind persons pass on non-metropolitan buses.
Leave granted.
The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: The blind persons pass issued by the Passenger Transport Board entitles the holder to free travel on public transport in Adelaide, and I believe that it also entitles the holder to certain concessions in interstate travel. My office has been contacted by Ms Heather Window, who lives at Woodside, regarding an inability to use her blind persons pass when travelling from Woodside to Adelaide.
Ms Window has multiple sclerosis, which has affected her optic nerve and, as a consequence, she is legally blind. She travels from Woodside to the Low Vision Centre in Adelaide once a week. After initially being allowed to use her pass on the Transit Plus service that runs through Woodside, Ms Window was recently told by the driver that, as the bus is classed as country, she is not entitled to the concession. A call to Transit Plus by Ms Window confirmed that ruling.
This is despite the fact that the buses concerned display a poster identifying acceptable concession passes, including the blind persons pass. It should be noted that Woodside is closer to Adelaide than either Gawler or Christies Beach and, should Ms Window board a bus from either of those locations, she would be entitled to travel free of charge. To add insult to injury, a car registered in Woodside is charged metropolitan registration rates, despite its classification as country for the purpose of the blind persons pass. My questions to the minister are:
1. Why does the use of the blind persons pass for travelling on public transport not extend to Woodside?
2. Will the minister commit to extending the blind persons pass concession to Woodside and other areas of the Adelaide Hills not currently covered?
3. Will the minister commit to extending the concession to all public road and rail transport within the state of South Australia?
The Hon. DIANA LAIDLAW (Minister for Transport and Urban Planning): In her question the honourable member refers to public transport. Technically, that is the term for the subsidised bus, train and tram system in the metropolitan area, which is a clearly defined area and has been for many decades. To the east it goes as far as Aldgate, and beyond that has been deemed to be country. The issues have been raised in this place in the past and are on the government's agenda in terms of the metropolitan boundary.
It is complex, because various agencies over time have established different boundaries for metropolitan and country purposes. The Hon. Terry Cameron has raised this with me in the past, in terms of motor vehicles and public transport. The Premier has asked a group to look at issues related to the boundaries-
The Hon. Sandra Kanck: That was 12 months ago now.
The Hon. DIANA LAIDLAW: Yes, and most recently `notional values' is the area that will gain the focus as the first part of further work on that study. But we do have a range of boundaries for different purposes, and it is true that Woodside, for some registration purposes, is metropolitan but for public transport purposes it is country. At the present time we are looking for reciprocal rights interstate.
I believe that we can look at a range of other measures that have a social justice purpose in terms of public transport. All of them come at a cost, although we have made some savings through competitive tendering of services. All the concessions for public transport purposes are always paid through the Human Services budget so, notwithstanding savings in the delivery of public transport, we would need to look at the budget for Human Services in terms of any further extension of any concession.
So I will ask my officers and Human Services to look at the issues. As I say, on the face of it, it would seem fair and reasonable but the implications in terms of extension of concessions and deeming Woodside to be city for just blind persons passes but not for the rest of the ticketing system is a big issue in terms of our ticketing policy, revenue and operations. So I would not want to see Woodside or Mount Barker looked at as a one-off measure for a concession for people with the blind persons pass, particularly when that is a free trip and not even a concession trip. So there are some bigger implications, although, as I say, on the surface it sounds a very reasonable request.
In reply to Hon. SANDRA KANCK (8 November).
The Hon. DIANA LAIDLAW: Holders of a Blind Travel Pass are provided free travel on all Metroticket services funded by the Passenger Transport Board (PTB) and provided by private service contractors.
The service from Woodside to Adelaide is operated by Transit Plus under contract with the PTB. This service is a country bus Service and as such is outside of the Metroticket system. Country bus operators are not reimbursed by the PTB for free travel provided to holders of Blind Travel Passes, and therefore operators of these services are not required under their service contracts to offer this concession. However, I am pleased to advise that Transit Plus has confirmed that, whilst it is not a requirement to provide free travel to blind citizens, a policy is in place whereby all holders of a Blind Travel Pass travel free on Transit Plus services. I am assured that all drivers have been informed of this policy.
With regard to the display of the concession card poster for metropolitan services in buses used for the Woodside to Adelaide service, Transit Plus has advised that as they also hold a metropolitan service contract with the PTB in the Hills area, their buses are regularly interchanged between the two services and therefore all buses display the metropolitan 2000 concession card poster.
