All Aboard: Tell us your story

The All Aboard campaign is raising concerns about the level of access provided by Victoria’s public transport system and calling on the government and transport authorities to start spending to fix our transport problems.

We want you to tell us your story about problems with inaccessible transport. The problem can be big or small – it could be something at your local bus, train or tram stop, or something that causes difficulties right across the train or tram system. You can take a photo or write a story and point it out on a map so we can show where Victoria’s transport system doesn’t work.

With your help we can start to map the extent of Victoria’s inaccessible public transport system and tell the real story about what’s happening everyday across the State.

Tell your story


Latest Posts

Tram stops missing access to footpaths – CBD Melbourne

Footpath at tram stop - Collins St, Melbourne

Some platform tram stops in Collins Street, Melbourne, offer no commuter safety for people with mobility aids.

This image shows the view from the end of the ramp at a platform tram stop in Collins St.

People using wheelchairs, scooters and frames would cross the street from the end of the stop, only to find that without a ramp for the curb, there is no way to get onto the footpath.

Commuters with mobility aids stand a good chance of being hit by a car while crossing the road and looking for a place to get onto the footpath.

How could such a simple problem go unfixed?

Commuters deserve to cross the road safely.

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Bus stops without access, lights or shelter – Templestowe

So many bus stops are not accessible via footpaths, making it hard or impossible for passengers to reach them.

In Williamsons Road, Templestowe (near Atkinson Street) the stop is clearly difficult to access and dangerous for bus passengers.

There are no paths to and from the bus stop, making access difficult for able bodied passengers and impossible for people with disabilities. Moreover, the stop is dangerous for the elderly and people with vision or mobility impairment as there is no shelter and no lighting, other than the street lighting located in the central median strip. These same features also make the stop unuseable in bad weather and unsafe at night.

Bus stops that people can’t reach or use are a waste of money.

No platforms to board trams – Victoria Street, Richmond

Passengers waiting at Tram Stop 20 - Victoria Street, Richmond - to board the tram, where there are no platforms to board the tram.

Tram Stop 20 - Victoria Street, Richmond

There are no accessible tram stops on Victoria Street, Richmond between Church Street and Hoddle Street, despite the many low-floor trams that travel this route.

People that live in Richmond and use an electric scooter for mobility cannot travel on the low-floor trams that pass through Victoria Street because there is no accessible tram stop to board or exit a low-floor tram. This problem affects all passengers trying to board trams, including people with disabilities, single mothers with prams and the elderly, because there is no level step into the low-floor trams.

The two inaccessible tram stops are outside Woolworths at tram Stop 20 (corner of Victoria Street and Lennox Street, Richmond) and outside the North Richmond Station at tram Stop 19. Both tram stops are located on Victoria Street, Richmond between Church Street and Hoddle Street.

The City of Yarra Council is now discussing with the Department of Transport (DOT), and other relevant stakeholders, the option of designing and constructing two Easy Access Stops at these inaccessible points on Victoria Street.

Residents hope these stops will be constructed before or during 2015.

We sure hope there is no delay.

It’s a long time to wait to be able to catch the tram, just to do simple everyday things like everyone else.

Train Stations without ramps – Epping Station

The Department of Transport has designed and is responsible for building 3 new rail stations along the South Morang Rail Extension Project. These rail stations will have lifts and stairs, but absolutely no ramp access, which will leave many people with no way of being able to access the platform at these new stations when the lift is not in operation due to electrical failure, vandalism and maintenance. In comparison, able-bodied people will always have immediate access to the station’s platform either via the stairs. Therefore the design of these stations will result in indirect discrimination against people with disabilities.

It will force many people with disabilities in the local area to be home bound and in effect more isolated in their inability to use their access point to the rail transportation network. There will be a number of setbacks that they will have to endure to access the rail network; Cost – additional taxi fares to get to the nearest station with ramp access, Safety – by being potentially stranded on a train platform that they are unable not depart from, and Inconvenience the additional time taken to get to a train station that they can use.

This problem will affect all people with disabilities who use mobility aides, parents with prams, cyclists and the elderly, particularly people who suffer from anxiety disorders such as claustrophobia who can’t use a lift even when it’s functional.

Ideally the best solution would be the construction of a ramp, which is a one off investment and would maintain the independence of people with disability who use the rail network. Otherwise a community facilitated, disability accessible bus running the length of the inaccessible train stations would be alternative option.