2 days ago
Disability advocates want more Alice Springs transport options after dark
A lack of night-time transport options for people in Alice Springs is leaving people with disabilities feeling deserted and forgotten.
Royston Thompson has a spinal disability, and not being able to get a wheelchair taxi after dark makes him feel isolated from the community, even "angry".
He said if he tried to request an accessible cab after 8pm he was told they are unavailable.
"After 8pm the only vehicles with the taxi company that are available are just small vehicles … difficult to get into," he said.
Mr Thompson is a radio volunteer with the local SES and sometimes his training finishes at 9pm.
It is a common story, as many people in Alice Springs have faced long wait times for a taxi due to fewer drivers and taxi services in town.
But those with disabilities say that with far fewer options for them, it can feel like a curfew.
Due to his epilepsy, Joel Crawford cannot hold a licence.
He has up to 17 seizures a year, and after having suffered some on his pushbike, he cannot ride that either.
Mr Crawford runs a part-time business called Heritage Cleaning Services, working at a few venues across town and often at night when they are closed.
One of the venues is the Old Hartley Street School heritage building in the centre of town, where he also volunteers during the day.
"I've got three options [if a taxi doesn't arrive] — I can either risk walking home, wait for a really long period to get a taxi, or I can sleep on the premises," he said.
"That's the situation I've found myself in.
"I really don't think that is encouraging people living with a disability in any way, shape or form to get out and do something with themselves.
"I think that's the biggest problem we are having in this town."
There are two main taxi companies in town: Alice Springs Taxis and 13CABS.
They have fewer than 15 wheelchair taxis, also called multi-purpose taxis (MPTs), between them.
Alice Springs Taxis manager Ann Mellors disputes that MPTs have been unavailable for people with disability after 8pm.
A spokesperson from the Department of Logistics and Infrastructure stated that MPTs "must not refuse a booking to pick up a passenger in a wheelchair" by law.
The spokesperson also stated that later this year, the Northern Territory government would re-establish a commercial passenger industry forum with stakeholders from the disability sector.
Access to MPTs by wheelchair users would be "an agenda item for discussion", the spokesperson said.
Mr Crawford and Mr Thompson are a part of the Disability Advocacy Service's (DAS) leadership group, who are pushing for a transport service to fill the gaps for all vulnerable people who want to get around town in the evenings.
"If we are considered the third-largest city in the Northern Territory after Darwin and Palmerston, [both of which] have a 24-hour bus service, who have security guards on buses … I believe Alice Springs deserves the same thing," Mr Crawford said.
DAS project facilitator Penny Watson said not having a way to get home was "curtailing people's freedom", and she wanted local and territory governments to partner with community stakeholders to make the bus plan happen.
The group met with Alice Springs Town Council candidates on Tuesday to put forward their goals for a more accessible town.
Mr Thompson said people with disability had the right to leave the house after dark.
"For people with wheelchairs, [a night time bus service] would be a good thing," he said.
