Victoria's Taxi Inquiry

I've recently been in contact with the people who are conducting the inquiry into the current Victorian Taxi service via twitter. They asked me to forward them my experiences with wheelchair accessible taxis in Victoria. I'd like to create some discussion about it, so below is what I have sent them. Tell me what you think and if you have anything else you'd like to say or suggest, please do, and I'll forward it onto them.

My I sent to them:

I have been following you via twitter as @tinymads. Here are my experiences, opinions and suggestions.

I have found that my experience with WATS have been generally good.I have heard experiences of others after speaking with them.

When making bookings, some passengers may not be able to speak effectively enough on the phone to make themselves understood and therefore this may complicate their booking. A mobile version of the current online booking service for WATS vehicles needs to be made available. The iphone application is not suitable for everyone because not everyone has an iphone. A mobile site which any user can access no matter what device they have needs to be implemented.

People with communication barriers or slurred speech have difficulty speaking with drivers who do not understand English. WATS Drivers really do need to be able to speak excellent English as this makes the situation stressful for the passenger and driver.

Some parts of the different disabilities that passengers may have, may involve them not being able to tell the driver where to go and give directions. It needs to be policy that every WATS vehicle has a GPS and the driver has training on how to use them properly.

Eftpos machines in WATS vehicles generally don't have long enough cords and therefore passengers sometimes have no choice but to reveal their pin number so the driver can process their payment.This is an invasion of privacy, and needs to be addressed.

Wait times are too long. Some people I have spoken to have had to wait up to 1 hour for a WATS vehicle.

If the pick up address is the passengers home, and the passenger is not out the front when the driver arrives, they need to knock on the door to let the passenger know they are there. Just because they are not out the front, does not mean they are not there. There may be a number of reasons why the passenger cannot wait outside. When the driver knocks on the door, the driver needs to be patient, due to our disability it may take us a little longer to answer the door, so don't assume we aren't there because we don't answer straight away.

I have had other passengers tell me that drivers switch on the meter before they begin the journey while the driver is strapping the wheelchair in. That can sometimes add at least $10 or more onto the fare. This is unacceptable.

Drivers need specific training in the safest way to strap in the wheelchair. Their vehicle should also not be allowed to accept wheelchair jobs unless they have all four restraining straps and seat belt. If a passengers wheelchair is not strapped in properly, this puts the passengers life at risk.

When traveling interstate, passengers should not have to explain to drivers what the 'interstate docket' is. I have had many incidences where drivers have refused to take the docket because I am not from their state or territory and they have had no training in what to do with interstate dockets. Passengers should also be able to request as many dockets as they require. 10 dockets per 7 days is not acceptable.

GO: I know you've all got something to say, so tell me your experiences!