A Ramsgate woman who is legally blind has been fighting with her local councils for the past 15 years to get shelter for her local bus stops on Rocky Point Road.
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Stephanie Peebles is requesting the installation of shelter for two bus stops, one in the Georges River Council side of Rocky Point Road and the other in the Bayside Council side.
"Guide Dogs NSW have identified the two stops as the safest bus stops for me to access," Stephanie said.
"As a person with disability accessing the bus safely and one with shelter particularly in winter and summer is important," she said.
Stephanie said the objective of the State Transit Bus Infrastructure Guide states that bus services are to be accessible to all passengers.
This includes the elderly, the mobility, vision and hearing impaired; people with young children, strollers and prams; and people with heavy luggage or shopping.
"Georges River Council, told me 126 of the 750 bus stops in the LGA have shelters but this is only 16 per cent," Stephanie said.
"Bayside Council, have said they receive many requests for the installation of bus shelters each year but funds are limited for this work and council needs to prioritise these installations," she said
"But it is not clear how this prioritising is done, or to find out which bus stops will be upgraded and when. There appears to be no review or appeals process for the decision making about the installation of bus shelters.
"Bayside also told me that the major factor that determines where a bus shelter is installed is to use Opal card tap-on data from TfNSW.
"The council has data for most bus stops in the LGA but not the one I have requested. I find this odd as this stop was the site for the former Darrell Lee chocolate factory which had no residents and has been developed into four multi-storey high-rise blocks which have on average 1,800 residents.
"A nursing home has also been built within metres of the bus stop which has also increased the number of commuters. There has been no improvement in bus timetables or shelters, but I know from my own experience these bus stops have increased patronage.
"If the major factor that determines where a bus shelter is installed is to use Opal card tap-on, then this information needs to be collected for all bus stops so an informed decision can be made.
"To make a decision not to provide shelter because there is no information is flawed. Furthermore, to make a decision without taking into account the needs of the users with a disability, I believe, is disability discrimination and not in line with the State Transit Bus Infrastructure Guide. The assumption is all users have the same needs and abilities.
"Both Councils need to recognise it is the most vulnerable people in our community who use public transport, the young, the elderly, the frail and people with low incomes. In my case I am a blind person who does not drive and who relies on buses to get around," Stephanie said.
Last week Bayside Council replaced the bus seat at the corner of Rocky Point Road and Clarkes Road in Ramsgate.
A Bayside Council spokesperson said, "Council assesses several factors including patronage data from Opal card usage when prioritising sites to upgrade with bus shelters and will examine the latest data before making any decisions on the next scheduled bus shelter upgrades."
A Georges River spokesperson said its traffic consultants have finalised the Bus Stop Audit in January 2024 that outlines the current asset conditions of 745 bus stop locations within the LGA.
"The bus stop at the corner of Weeney Street and Rocky Point Road currently has a bus seat, concrete pad, good lighting condition and other feature like Tactile Ground Surface Indicator (TGSI) and currently complies with Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport.
"Council has allocated funding to begin upgrading bus stops in the 2024/25 financial year over the next three years and is developing the three year bus stop capital works programme that will identify high priority upgrade locations based on the Bus Stop audit recommendations and an assessment of community need. The installation of a bus stop shelter at this location will be included as part of the future bus stop capital works programme."
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said that Greater Sydney Bus Contract operators have a Disability Engagement Plan that is implemented throughout the duration of the contract, with a focus on training frontline staff. Within these plans, training activities aim to improve disability awareness and help bus drivers support customers with disabilities.
Drivers are trained to:
- Be vigilant when looking for intending passengers and anyone signalling the bus.
- Be mindful of the distance between the kerb and bus, ensuring the accessible ramp is lowered to assist those with mobility issues.
- Allow adequate time for elderly or less mobile customers to be seated before departure.
Transport for NSW is currently developing a new Disability Inclusion Action Plan, which is expected to be released in 2024. The plan will set the vision to provide a transport system with equal access for everyone, regardless of their age, ability, socio-economic or personal circumstances.
Currently, more than 98 per cent of contracted bus services in NSW are accessible, meaning they have lower floors, wide doors and aisles, and there are no steps in the front half of the bus. Other features include handrails, accessible stop buttons and the wheelchair symbol displayed on the front of the bus. As more zero emission buses are introduced, this figure will rise to 100 per cent.
Transport for NSW is in the process of replacing legacy bus stop wayfinding signage with a new bus stop wayfinding signage standard known as the B-Pole. This rollout will improve accessibility by providing clear signage indicating the location of the bus stop and including a Braille information panel communicating the bus stop number for passengers who are visually impaired. Around 16,000 B-Poles have been installed across NSW so far.
Further, the NSW Government's 2023-24 Budget has allocated a total of $800.7 milion over four years to implement the Safe Accessible Transport (SAT) program. This program aims to make public transport safe, inclusive and easy to use for all passengers by upgrading stations to improve accessibility. These upgrades can include providing compliant access at bus stops in the immediate vicinity of the station entry.
