Public Transport – Mobility Issues

How does Brisbane’s public transport stack up for people with mobility issues?

Better than it used to. There, that’s good enough, right?

I got a taste of dealing with some of these issues last year, when I had serious heart problems combined with a new baby. It meant that I:

• Needed to take public transport rather than walking
• Couldn’t walk up hills
• Was frequently pushing a pram
• Couldn’t lift much

All of which equalled huge pain in backside when trying to go anywhere. Here’s what I learnt.

Buses

Many, but nowhere near most, Brisbane City Council buses are disabled-access-friendly. This includes either a ramp (old ones only) or rather nifty suspension which allows the side of the bus to lower to the kerb, wheelchair/pram spaces, and special seating for those less mobile.If you require a disabled-access bus, you can (theoretically) order one 24 hours in advance, for a specific route, time and place. And we wonder why we see so few wheelchairs on our buses! What they may not tell you is that one route is almost always serviced by disabled-access buses. The Great Circle line (598 and 599) goes in a huge circle around the city, via all the shopping centres. For those who can actually use it, it’s unreliable time-wise but fairly certain to have full disabled access.

Other bus companies (in outer suburbs) vary. They all provide at least a few disabled-access buses. Procedures and policies vary. For example, Westside Bus Company (Ipswich) doesn’t permit unfolded prams on its buses – despite most of them being wheelchair-friendly. The reason? A baby might go through the windscreen if the driver slams on the brakes. Yeah, right – like they’re so much safer squirming round in Mum’s arms! Not to mention falling out of the bus while Mum’s trying to get the pram folded and onto the bus. The drivers are, of course, forbidden to help with this process. On the bright side, you probably don’t want to catch one of their buses anyway. Half of the drivers are surly, rude and screaming at fellow road-users. And chronically late, if they bother actually driving all of their route.

Trains

All suburban and intercity trains are disabled-access – meaning you should be able to get on, although there may not be a specific area to park. That’s the good news! The bad news is – nowhere near all the stations are. If you already know what stations you want to travel between, have a look at the CityRail station information to see if they’re disabled-friendly. But beware the phrases ‘assisted wheelchair access’ and ‘no wheelchair access between platforms’. At my local train station this means that you must wait in a specific area and that access is only available from one side. If you happen to live on the other side of the station, tough bikkies. Have a go on the stairs or risk ticket inspector wrath by catching a train going the wrong way to a station with lifts, then get off, change platforms and catch a train going the way you actually want to go. See Citytrain – Accessible Services for what little information they provide.

Ferries

Huh. Good luck. Give my love to the fishies.