Brendan Simpkins

TAXI services for the disabled in Gawler have been labelled a “disgrace” by one concerned resident, with rides arriving more than an hour late or sometimes not at all.

It has led Paul Westermann, of Gawler West, to speak out against the Access Taxi service, voicing his concerns over safety for passengers and the lack of enforceable standards for access cabs.

Mr Westermann organises the service for his wife, who lives in local aged care, and needs a wheelchair to get around. On weekends, she travels in an Access Taxi to spend time with family.

Access Taxis cater for passengers with mobility difficulties or disabilities. They are purpose-built vehicles fitted with hydraulic lifts, enabling passengers to be positioned safely.

Mr Westermann said Gawler users were left “hanging in the wind” because of unreliability of the service.

“(For example) I have a medical appointment, I have to be there at a certain time and then I have to be picked up to come back,” he said. “That doesn’t happen.

“We would book the cab and it may come half an hour early or half an hour late; returning back, it might be an hour and half late.

“That impacts, particularly going back, because people rely on medications or they possibly could be too long in a particular type of wheel chair.

“You have the emotional side of it of trying to take someone backwards and forwards, ‘is this cab going to turn up or not?’”

The State Government contracted Suburban Taxis for management of Access Taxis following a tender process in 2019.

Suburban took over the centralised booking service in March of that year, becoming responsible for the dispatch and management of Access Taxis across metropolitan Adelaide.

The $2.6 million contract is due to expire in March next year.

However, despite being under the management of Suburban Taxis, Access Taxis are operated by independent providers.

According to a government website, there are 101 wheelchair-accessible taxis operating across Adelaide, comprising single- wheelchair taxis and vans that can fit two or three wheelchairs and passengers.

But a Transport Department spokesperson told The Bunyip “there is no way to determine how many choose to operate in particular areas” because contractors chose which areas to work in.

In 2017, the then-Labor government introduced a $10 “lifting fee”, which is paid to Access Taxi drivers.

Under the scheme, drivers are paid $10 for loading passengers in and out of the taxis in a bid to curb running the meter during these periods.

It is only applicable on trips paid for by a 75 per cent of 100 per cent South Australian Transport Subsidy Scheme voucher.

The Transport Department spokesperson said it was aware of issues with waiting times being “longer than we would consider acceptable”.