Disabled and left stranded

IT’S THE SYSTEM: Goonellabah resident Jacob Baldwin is dissatisfied with taxi services in the area.

JACKLYN WAGNER

IT WAS some time during the two hours that wheelchair-bound Jacob Baldwin waited for a Lismore taxi in the cold and pouring rain that he realised something needed to be done.

Mr Baldwin, 58, has cerebral palsy and athetosis quadriplegia, and spends around $5000 a year on cabs to get to and from work, do his shopping and visit the doctors.

In the absence of regular, wheelchair-accessible public transport the Goonellabah resident has little choice but to rely on the Lismore Taxi Co-op's three special-purpose vehicles in its fleet of 22 cars.

It is a complaint Linda Lomman, the transport project officer for the Northern Rivers Social Development Board, hears regularly.

With the Northern Rivers being home to a large proportion of people living with a disability, Ms Lomman says Mr Baldwin's problem raises the much broader issue: the lack of decent public transport in the region, particularly for the disabled.

“Even with the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme half-fare reimbursement, capped at $30 a trip, travel between town travel is expensive,” Ms Lomman said.

“Accessible bus stops are not the norm in any town across the Northern Rivers. The pedestrian network in towns is also not always accessible.

“Obtaining transport information for the visually impaired is problematic as we do not have a telephone-based service.”

The lack of public transport options means Mr Baldwin is reliant on taxis.

He said although the drivers were wonderful, he has had enough of Lismore Co-op's aging and unsafe maxi-cabs and their lack of availability.

“As far as the service is concerned, Lismore has the worst service I've experienced,” the North Coast resident of 18 years said.

“The drivers themselves are good. It's the system. Lismore is supposed to be a city.

“It's the attitude of the co-op towards the special-purpose vehicles. They're protective of their own vehicles and they see the special-purpose vehicles as a nuisance,” he said.

Mr Baldwin, who works as a disability service trainer, said he could only use Lismore's wheelchair accessible cabs between 10am and 2.30pm because they were tied up at other times taking children with special needs to and from school.

One night last month he was left for two hours in the rain after shopping in Lismore waiting for a taxi because none was available.

“There was no one available to take me home. I had to wait for two hours in the rain. It was freezing cold,” Mr Baldwin said.

“In the end they had to call a special-purpose vehicle driver who was off duty in Ballina.”

However, co-op director Keith Scobie had little time for Mr Baldwin's concerns.

“Maybe he should get his own car,” Mr Scobie said. “It's just a matter of adjusting yourself to the time service.”

Mr Scobie said the special-purpose vehicles were difficult to run at a profit and the drivers were expected to be 'orderlies and carers' in addition to their main job.

“These things happen where there may not be any available, but it doesn't happen very often at all,” he said.

LISMORE… two maxi taxis (with hydraulic lift)  and one flash cab (converted Falcon)

CASINO… two maxis and two flash cabs

BALLINA… two maxis and five flash cabs

BYRON… five maxis and four flash cabs