Arthritis Australia made a submission to the government consultation on a draft guide to improving whole-of-journey accessibility for public transport. The key points raised in the submission include:
- People with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions often experience great difficulty accessing public transport
- Because of the often invisible nature of their condition, people with arthritis, especially younger people report that they do not get the assistance and consideration they need either from drivers of public transport or from fellow passengers, in terms of boarding or disembarking assistance, access to priority seats and rails, and patience when additional time is required to get on and off public transport.
- We welcome the development of the Whole of Journey Guide and support the principles and guidelines it outlines. We would however like to see more specific guidelines included for more complex facilities such as larger train and bus stations and, in particular, airport terminals.
- The needs of commuters with invisible disabilities should be more specifically addressed in the Guide. In particular we support the introduction of a program like that recently implemented by Transport for London to recognise customers with invisible impairments who have difficulty standing but struggle to get a seat on public transport because their impairment is not immediately apparent.