The Hamilton City Accessible Journey Trial An evaluation January 2009 Prepared for The Hamilton City Accessible Journey Trial Project Team C/- Marceli Davison New Zealand Transport Agency Hamilton Prepared by Kay Kristensen Girls on Coffee Ltd the research evaluation group Cambridge Ph: 07 8239011 021 888512
[email protected] 1 Executive summary Introduction: Hamilton’s disabled community had been advocating to relevant authorities for many years for an accessible public land transport system. This, together with the Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into accessible public land transport for people with disabilities, inspired the Hamilton city Accessible Journey Trial’s project team to modify two medium buses servicing the inner city route and provide changes to five on-route bus stops in an effort to improve public land transport accessibility for people with disabilities in Hamilton and in doing so improve access for all. This evaluation documents the approach undertaken by the project team and reports the impact of the modifications from the project team’s and consumer’s perspective. Background: Transport is critical to participation in society. Disabled people in New Zealand have never had a public transport system that is accessible and affordable. The Human Rights Commission began an inquiry in 2003 prompted by the experiences and concerns of disabled people seeking enforcement of their right not to be discriminated against in the provision of public transport. The framework for the Inquiry was the concept of the accessible journey which is described as all the steps needed for a person to get from their home to their destination and back.