So my van’s carked it, again. And it’s going to cost thousands to fix. Excellent news!
It has, however, pushed me to consider getting a new vehicle. I’ve had this one for 7 years now, and it’s cost me almost $4,000 at the mechanic’s in that time. I think I’m due. Plus, if I want to gain employment, reliable transport is a must. And as we all know, public transport + wheelchair does not always equal reliable!

I had a look around and made the startling discovery that for a new, hoist and hand control-equipped car, I’m looking at around $80,000. As absurd as this sounds, it makes sense given the way ACC seems to readily fork out for new cars for their clients, while the rest of us have to dig into our own pockets for that sort of cash.

I’ve also decided that if I’m going to go down this long, arduous process of applying for funding, I only want to do it once. So I’m gunning for a new car. Something like this looks awesome. You might think it’s extravagant and yes, price-wise it most certainly is. But think about this – for the average person pursuing a new career, the assertion “I want reliable transport so I’m going to invest in a new car” would be met with murmurs of approval, of sensibility. That’s because it might only cost them, say, 20k. But $80,000? Ridiculous.

So. Where to from here? I guess I was hoping for some advice/guidance/suggestions around funding avenues. Which agencies/funding streams have you had success with? What other alternatives have you pursued? Any other considerations I should factor in? Sausage sizzles? Ha!

Thanks team!

Last week, I took a taxi from Auckland Airport to my house. It was a hoist-equipped, wheelchair/mobility taxi. The trip cost me a staggering $120. Thankfully, $40 of the trip was covered by Auckland Transport’s Total Mobility Scheme, and the remaining $80 by The Cerebral Palsy Society’s GetOutThere programme.

However, is the presence of these (admittedly, hugely beneficial) schemes the precise reason for such exorbitant prices? I decided to do a little investigation, and check out how the prices of wheelchair/mobility taxis compare with regular, ‘able-bodied’ cabs.

Auckland Wheelchair Taxi Rort

But no. Once again, NZ Bus show blatant disregard for the diverse needs of their traveling public, and order 120 buses with the same old manual ramps. If you think I’m being too harsh, or find my tone unnecessarily disparaging, take a ride on a bus with a wheelchair user.

Or at least, try to. You’ll be lucky if the driver lets you on.

• An example of an awesome, wheelchair-accessible bus with an automatic ramp from my travels in Vancouver:

So imagine my delight when I visited Vancouver as part of my Wheely Big OE, and found automated, truly wheelchair friendly buses and bus drivers! It might have helped that their former mayor was a wheelchair user himself, but nonetheless Vancouver currently stands as the most accessible city I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting.

Listen, I’m finally fulfilling my long-standing travel dream. I’m heading off on a “Wheely Big OE”, through Canada, Europe, and Hong Kong!

To see where I’m going, what I’m doing, and to view updates throughout my trip, make sure you pop on over to rednz.com.

It’ll be … interesting

- Red

That’s right – and check out the picture on the right if you don’t believe me, Telecom had effectively roped off four of the most valuable mobility parking spaces in the Auckland CBD, all in the name of a bloody brand launch. So I had to park miles away, and got really wet en route to class. Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.

So I approached one of the official-looking guys patrolling the Telecom area, and asked if they’d had Council approval to occupy these four parks. Yes, he said, and it cost them $28,000 for the whole rig.

Let me get this straight – Telecom can buy mobility parking spaces, at the expense of many individuals’ independence? I almost couldn’t believe it. I checked with the Council; sure enough, it was all permitted, and as far as they were concerned, there were plenty of other mobility parks I could use. Of course, they were all used up, leaving me one very wet, disgruntled student this afternoon!

UPDATE: I’ve been told by Telecom that the parks did not cost $28,000, and that figure is one ‘invented’ by one of the ground staff. However, I’m sure some money must have changed hands in exchange for the parks, I’m just not exactly sure how much. (yet )

What do you think about all this? Should mobility parking spaces be able to be ‘bought’? Should the Council be more pro-active in providing alternative parks? Let me know in the comments!

“Sorry lass, we can’t pull up outside. We’ve had to park 200m that way,” says the driver to the woman in the wheelchair.

Pushing and pulling the wheelchair over kerbs past the disabled parking spots, the driver manages to help his disabled customer to the van. It happens all the time and it is frustrating, says the only specialist mobility taxi company in Auckland, Re-li-on-us.

Because mobility parking cards are issued only to people with disabilities, Re-li-on-us misses out on card-carrying membership – despite providing mobility to the people who need it most.

For Barbara Broome, the mobility service has changed her life.

“It means I can hold down my job and turn up to meetings on time. I depend on them to get around.”

She says there are still some big gaps in aid for the disabled. Despite improved access in many areas, some disabled people still are unable to catch buses or trains. For instance, says Re-li-on-us owner and driver Gary Todd: “If a man has a broken neck, you don’t want them catching a bumpy bus or rickety train.”

The problem is, his vans cannot provide a door-to-door service without using mobility car parks.

“We need to be delivering as near as possible to the destinations,” Mr Todd says. “You can’t have someone with a severe disability in a wheelchair wheeling through the parking lot.”

But when drivers do tempt fate and park closer, they are fined. Chris Ross, marketing manager for Re-li-on-us, says the firm has a pile of parking tickets in the office more than an inch thick, with each one costing $150.

Mobility cards are issued through CCS Disability Services which says it empathises with Mr Todd but there is a danger in giving mobility cards to a registered taxi company, even though it is disability-focused.

Candy Smith, Northern region team leader for CCS, says there is already a shortage of mobility parking in the city and giving dispensations to individual taxi services is the wrong approach.

“It would be far better for us team up and lobby councils and developers for more drop-off zones,” she says. “It is more than
just the disabled community. There are also elderly people and parents with prams where a drop-off area close to the entrance would help.

“We can’t keep impacting on already-limited disabled parking when there is the bigger issue the community needs to address of getting developers of malls and shopping centres to provide more drop-off zones.”

Grounds for complaint
Parking is even more of a problem at hospitals, says Re-li-on-us owner Gary Todd.

Hospitals across the Auckland region give access to selected taxi companies on a contract basis but don’t take disabilities into account, he says, adding that hospitals often permit taxi companies that might only have one or two vehicles in their fleet that can carry disabled people.

One hospital in the region gave the contract to a taxi company that didn’t have any vehicles that could take people with disabilities. This means Re-li-on-us has to pay for access to hospital parking and drivers must park hundreds of metres away from the entrance, despite transporting people who have the greatest difficulties with access.

“Again, we really need the shortest possible distance for disabled people, especially when it is to the hospital,” says Mr Todd. “Two hundred metres is too far, especially in some cases where the person involved has to keep their core from getting too cold.”

He says the company doesn’t have a problem with tendering for access to hospital grounds but thinks there should be more of a
focus on people with disabilities. “Taxis might be fine for 90 per cent of the population but the other 10 per cent need something too.”

How “helpful” should one be towards a disabled person, without appearing to be condescending, or patronising?

Every now and then you might see a wheelchair user struggling up a curb or a step. Do you offer to help, and risk offending him/her, or do you leave them be, confident that they know what they’re doing? It’s a tricky situation, for sure.

But how about a blind person? A young Auckland high school student found the answer to this question in a rather unfortunate recent incident aboard a train home from school. This, from the Auckland Trains blog:

Good on the young student who tonight stood up in a very crowded train to offer the visually impaired guy with a cane a seat.

The poor student wasn’t ready for the dressing down he got with the suggestion he was being patronising.

Refusing the offer, the man said: “Do I look like I can’t stand? Do I look like I haven’t got two feet? Why would I need to sit down.”

The student apologised and looked most upset to be dressed down with a crowded audience listening.

Interesting. How would you explain to the student what’s going on?

Indeed it is interesting, and kinda upsetting, yeah? Blind, physically disabled, whatever; I consider myself lucky to live in a country where people actually do offer to help, coz I’m sure that isn’t the case elsewhere in the world! If you don’t want to accept someone’s help, at least be reasonable about it.

Anyway, your thoughts?

TALKING HANDS

Graceful movements
expressions are relayed
many languages are involved
Hand on hand, block letter, braille sign
Deaf, Deafblind and Hearing alike
Mothers, Fathers, Interpreters
Sign Language, Talking Hands

Ha.

Cheers to Matt from CCS Disability Action for the great pic!