Regional wheelchair cabs rolling-off the rank for Queensland

Roma’s first ever wheelchair accessible taxi has rolled-off the rank.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Paul Lucas said it marks the start of Australia’s first funding program for regional wheelchair accessible cabs.

“The wheelchair friendly cab will go into operation at Roma tomorrow – the first of a series to hit the streets of 80 regional communities over the next two years.

“It fulfils an election promise to roll-out 70 cabs to regional and remote towns that have an existing service but no wheelchair taxi,” Mr Lucas said.

“But we’re looking at delivering above and beyond that by rolling-out a further ten wheelchair cabs to small towns with no current taxi service.

“This extra roll-out of ten will depend upon having a viable operator willing to commence services in each town.”

Mr Lucas today inspected the first cab, which has been fitted-out in Brisbane, ahead of its 480 kilometre trip west to Roma.

By the end of 2009 under the Accessible Taxis Queensland program 175 wheelchair cabs will be in service in an area stretching from the Torres Strait, Whitsundays, the Granite Belt, the Brisbane Valley and Moreton Bay.

Mr Lucas said the $4.8 million program is the first of its kind in Australia delivering an unprecedented level of mobility in Queensland.

“This is a win-win for small rural towns.

“It means if you’re a disabled resident or a tourist you’ll have access to quality public transport via the town cab,” he said.

“If you’re a small town cab owner you’ll also have the first cab supplied free of charge so you’re not out of pocket for the purchase of a wheelchair cab – which can cost up to $80,000.”

Mr Lucas said the cabs would provide new services in some regions that don’t have a taxi and boost the fleets of those who already have a service.

“They will generally be a larger vehicle or people mover in maxi configuration which means better business with more capacity than a standard sedan so cabbies can offer more services.

“This policy is aimed fairly and squarely at small town in the bush – to provide a wider range of transport services in regional areas.”

Mr Lucas said it brings Queensland to the forefront of providing the highest portion of wheelchair accessible cabs of any Australian state.

“Currently 14 percent of the fleet or 425 out of 3035 taxis are wheelchair friendly and within the next two years this grow to 16 percent.

“This is compared to 9 percent in New South Wales and far less than that is some other states,” Mr Lucas said.

The Accessible Taxis Queensland program is part of a bigger picture for improving cab services in the state and includes the rollout of taxi security cameras and new cab licences.

Media Contact: Roanne Johnson 3237 1145 / 0401 669 276