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Submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee in Relation to its Inquiry into the Future of New Zealand's mobility [2016] NZHRCSub 2 (31 March 2016)

Last Updated: 29 April 2016

Submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee in Relation to its Inquiry into the Future of New Zealand’s mobility

31 March 2016

NEW ZEALAND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION SUBMISSION TO THE TRANSPORT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE IN RELATION TO ITS INQUIRY INTO THE FUTURE OF NEW ZEALAND’S MOBILITY

Introduction

1. The Human Rights Commission (‘the Commission’) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee (‘the Committee’) in relation to its inquiry on the future of New Zealand’s mobility.

2. The Committee has identified a number of areas that it will consider during its inquiry related to how changing social and economic trends and transport technology can: Enhance productivity, reduce transport and related costs, optimise infrastructure, increase accessibility and social connectedness, save lives, reduce injuries, and reduce the environmental footprint.

3. The Commission has focused its submission on the human rights aspects of how changing transport technology and social and economic trends can increase accessibility and social connectedness for disabled people.

Accessible Transport as a Human Right

4. From a human rights perspective, part of the framework for transport is the obligation of the State to take appropriate measures to ensure people with disabilities can access public transportation, including aerial, railway, road, and water transport, on an equal basis with others as set out in Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

5. Ensuring public transportation is accessible contributes to the realisation of other rights such as the right for people with disabilities to be included in their local communities and live independently set out in Article 19 of the CRPD.

6. Accessibility therefore needs to be a key consideration when investigating changing transport technology. This is particularly important given one in four people in New Zealand now identify as disabled,¹ and the population aged over 65, the majority of which are disabled,² is steadily increasing.³

7. Furthermore, access is not only relevant to disabled and elderly people, but also parents with children in pushchairs and people with temporary injuries. Therefore, making transportation accessible is potentially beneficial to a wide cross-section of the population

8. The Commission highlighted the right to accessible transport in its 2005 “The

Accessible Journey” inquiry in which it made a number of recommendations for changes to legislation, policy, procedures, and funding arrangements as

¹ _{2013 Disability Survey.}

² 2013 Disability Survey

³ Statistics New Zealand, 2013,

http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/ageing-population- property-market.aspx.

well as to current institutional arrangements.⁴ While there have been a number of legislative and policy developments since the release of the report,⁵ some recommendations remain relevant. For example, the recommendation to introduce National Accessibility Design Performance Standards for Public Land Transport.⁶

9. Furthermore, some of these changes have occurred under delegated legislation such as the Land Transport Rules which is possibly not as transparent and carries less accountability to consult than amendments to primary legislation.

10. Increasing the accessibility of public transport is a current priority in the Disability Action Plan 2014-2018. Priority 10(a) states that the Ministry of Transport and New Zealand Transport Agency are to “Implement the recommendations agreed by the Chief Executives’ Group on Disability Issues, which were identified through the stocktake on the accessibility of public transport.”⁷ This stocktake used the Commission’s transport inquiry as a framework.⁸

Practical Difficulties Passengers with Disabilities Face

11. People with disabilities, including wheelchair users, people with visual and hearing impairments, and people with neuro-disabilities face a number of practical difficulties when trying to access public transport. For example, although wheelchair accessibility of public transportation has steadily improved in recent years, not all bus, rail, and water services offer adequate ramps and space for wheelchair users.

12. Wheelchair accessibility also varies from region to region. For example, in

Auckland, approximately 91% of buses and all trains are reported to have wheelchair accessibility features,⁹ while only 71% of buses in Wellington are

⁴ The report is available for download at: https://www.hrc.co.nz/your-rights/people-disabilities/our- work/accessible-journey/.

⁵ See for example: https://www.hrc.co.nz/your-rights/people-disabilities/our-work/accessible- journey/#legislation-and-policy-developments.

⁶ Page 165 of the “Accessible Journey” report.

⁷ See Disability Action Plan, Priority 10(a): http://www.odi.govt.nz/what-we-do/ministerial-committee-on-

disability-issues/disability-action-plan/2014-2018/update-2015/shared-result-promote-access-in-the- community.html.

^{8 See: http://www.odi.govt.nz/what-we-do/ministerial-committee-on-disability-issues/disability-action-}

plan/2014-2018/actions-2014-2015/12-a-understand-the-issues-with-accessibility-for-disabled-people-of- transport-services.html.

⁹ See: https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/accessible-travel/.

reportedly wheelchair accessible.¹⁰ Furthermore, while services may be accessible to people with manual wheelchairs, passengers with bigger pieces of equipment such as power wheelchairs and mobility scooters are likely to find access difficult given width limitations. Accessing transportation during peak times may also prove difficult. Attitudes of drivers also impact on the ability of passengers to access services.

13. Wheelchair users may also have difficulty accessing other forms of land transportation, such as taxi vans fitted with wheelchair hoists. Limited availability during certain times (such as school pickup times and evenings) mean wheelchair users are not able to access appropriate transport on an equal basis with others. The use of mobility vans for nondisabled passengers is also reportedly an issue.¹¹ In the case of people with visual impairments, there have been reports of taxi drivers refusing to take guide dogs, despite this being against the law.¹²

_{14. People with visual impairments also face difficulties in accessing bus and train}

services. Buses may not stop if a person does not signal and the majority of services do not have audio announcements, forcing people to rely on the driver or fellow passengers to tell them when they have reached their desired stop. Although some transport operators do offer large format timetables,¹³ maps and timetables are largely inaccessible,

15. People with hearing impairments also face barriers largely due to inaccessible forms of communication and poor access to information. For example, announcements at transit stations may only be relayed audibly, leaving passengers without access to up-to-date information about their journey. Real-time visual information, while invaluable, may vary across the transport system and may not always correspond with audio announcements. Communication with staff can also be difficult due to a lack of staff awareness and training.

16. Research overseas indicates people with neuro-disabilities (including autism and intellectual disabilities) also face barriers in accessing public transport due

_{to fear of getting lost or being unable to recognise bus numbers.}¹⁴ _This

¹⁰ See: https://www.metlink.org.nz/getting-around/accessibility-guide/.

¹¹ See: http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/frustration-at-lack-of-chch-wheelchair-taxi-vans/.

¹² See: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8910054/Blind-man-and-his-dog-refused-lift and

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/291044/disabled-forced-to-live-'life-in-the-slow-lane'.

¹³ For example, see ‘Large format timetables’: http://www.metroinfo.co.nz/info/Pages/Accessible-travel-on-

Metro.aspx.

¹⁴ See http://nda.ie/Publications/Social-Community/Independent-and-Community-Living-Focus-Group-

Consultation-Report/Chapter-Two-The-views-and-experiences-of-people-with-intellectual-disabilities/

emphasises the importance of training for drivers and station staff to ensure a diverse range of passengers are adequately assisted.

17. Finally, people with disabilities may be particularly impacted by changes in public transport systems in situations of risk. For example, the mobility of many disabled people was restricted in the months following the Christchurch earthquake due to disruptions in the public transport system. The cutting or alteration of routes caused particular difficulty for people with visual impairments who had to rely more on family and friends and became more housebound.¹⁵ It is important regional bodies learn from this experience by having appropriate accessible transportation measures in place in times of risk.

18. Changing transport technology such as automatic ramps/hoists, wider aisles, inbuilt audio announcements, and real-time visual information in addition to staff training, has the potential to greatly improve the experience of passengers with disabilities.

Need for Direct Consultation on Transportation Options

19. Disabled people know their own needs best through their everyday lived experience. It is therefore important to consult passengers with a range of access needs when investigating new transportation technology options.

20. Like everyone, disabled people want to be fully included in society and contribute meaningfully to their communities. Consulting with people with disabilities directly will help to enable this to become a reality.

Conclusion

21. The Commission is of the view that changing transport technology has great potential to increase the accessibility of public transport and would encourage the Committee to explore accessibility-related transport technology options in consultation with people with disabilities.

22. Increasing accessibility of public transportation will not only benefit disabled passengers, but every passenger by helping to ensure every person has the opportunity to access – and therefore contribute – to their communities.

_{Recommendations}

¹⁵ See “Issues experienced by disabled people following the Christchurch earthquakes” report, page 17.

(i) The Commission recommends that the Committee duly notes the Commission’s recommendations in its “The Accessible Journey” report, namely the recommendations to:

(a) Introduce National Accessibility Design Performance Standards for

Public Land Transport.¹⁶

(b) Ensure the collection of disaggregated disability data both nationally and in regional data sets.¹⁷

_{(c) Develop a programme to address design issues and staff behaviour.}¹⁸

(ii) The Commission also recommends the Committee liaise with the New Zealand Transport Agency and Ministry of Transport as lead agencies in implementing Action 10(a) of the Disability Action Plan in order to review progress on the action and ensure it is completed as agreed.

_{(iii) Finally, the Commission recommends the Committee directly consults with}

passengers with a range of access needs when investigating new transportation options.

¹⁶ See page 165.

¹⁷ See page 168.

¹⁸ See pages 172-3.