Public Transport is for Everyone

The reality is that many stations remain out of reach for those with impaired mobility and the Government shows no plans to remedy the problem. 

Access is a problem for all members of the community.  The limited access to train stations is in itself a physical barrier that effectively works to disable the public.  People in wheel chairs; people using walking frames, crutches and walking sticks; elderly people; young children; pregnant women; women with prams; cyclists; and travellers with luggage are all disadvantaged by the lack of accessibility to train stations.

The NSW Labor government has been promising for years to provide ‘easy access to railway stations across NSW’, but The Greens believe the government is taking safe Labor seats for granted by systematically failing to upgrade the accessibility of railway stations in seats such as Marrickville.

There are 11 railway stations in the inner Sydney seat of Marrickville and not one of them provides adequate access.  16 per cent of Marrickville is living with a disability, but residents have to drive to Campsie or Wolli Creek to find accessible stations.  The Greens counted 586 steps between the people of Marrickville and their train stations.

Access to transport is an important human rights issue to provide equal opportunities across a spectrum of people with differing abilities and economic situations.  The Greens disability policy focuses on designing services and infrastructure to remove the physical and social barriers that disable people.  Installing lifts and ramps at train stations should form part of an ongoing assessment of Sydney’s rail network to identify barriers and knock them down.