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A message from the Commissioner
Welcome to the first edition of the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) Driver Training newsletter, designed to keep you up to date with the development and implementation of training for drivers of wheelchair accessible services across NSW. This newsletter will also highlight opportunities for your ongoing contribution to the training.
Wheelchair accessible taxis and vehicles play an essential role in the point to point transport industry by providing safe passenger services for people travelling in wheelchairs.
Last year I was pleased to be able to attend the WAT Availability Roundtables to hear a wide variety of stakeholders share their insights on ways to improve the availability of wheelchair accessible services while ensuring they are safe and affordable for passengers who need them and are economically viable for service providers and drivers. Since then, the NSW Government announced an emergency funding package
of $15 million to address the shortage of wheelchair accessible taxis in NSW. I was pleased to see this package announced.
The bulk of this package will be for increased subsidies to support existing and new wheelchair accessible taxis. Those subsidies are administered by a team in Transport for NSW that runs the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme and the Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Driver Incentive Scheme.
But also, as part of this package, my team will be developing standardised driver training courses for all wheelchair accessible taxi drivers across NSW. The course will consist of an online short course, a practical face to face course and online and face to face refresher training. Ensuring safe journeys for all is one of my priorities, and all components of the courses being developed will ensure that drivers are competent in safely transferring and transporting their passengers travelling with wheelchairs. Further, the courses will have an increased focus on disability awareness training for drivers.
My team and I are keen to listen to your experience and insights as we get to work developing standardised driver training courses for all drivers across NSW. I look forward to continued collaboration with you.
Anthony Wing
NSW Point to Point Transport Commissioner
Information sessions and current training audits
Information Sessions
Last month, the Commissioner and his team, held five online information sessions. More than 55 people attended the sessions from across the state, including Albury, Wagga Wagga, Tweed Heads, Orange, the Central Coast and Port Macquarie. Attendees represented stakeholders from the point to point transport industry, passengers who travel with wheelchairs, disability organisations and state and local government representatives.
The sessions provided an overview of the training, introduced Endeavour Training & Development who is responsible for developing the online training course and provided an opportunity for attendees to share insights and ask questions.
Throughout the development of all training courses there will be opportunities, such as these information sessions, for updates and to hear your insights and observations.
Current training audits and consultation
A number of wheelchair accessible driver training courses are currently being run across the state, and it is important to consult with the providers of this training to understand what is working well, gaps in the current training and to hear insights and experiences from the training currently being delivered. This consultation is currently underway, and learnings will inform both the development of the online training and face to face practical training and assessment.
Next steps - survey
To better understand your experiences and insights in relation to wheelchair accessible services - whether you are a passenger travelling with a wheelchair, a driver, a service provider or a carer - we would like to hear from you.
We would appreciate it if you could please take a few minutes to complete our survey. The responses provided will help inform the development and implementation of all WAV driver training courses. The survey should take no more than five (5) minutes.
Please complete the survey by Thursday 10 April. Thank you in advance for your time and contributions.
Have your say
Keep in touch
We want to hear from you. To stay updated, ask a question, or let us know of someone who should be on our mailing list or contribute to the consultation process, please email us at p2ptraining@transport.nsw.gov.au.
Frequently asked questions
How can I contribute to the WAV driver training development?
It is important throughout the development of all courses - online theory, face to face practical and refresher - that we hear from the point to point transport industry, people with lived experience of disability and disability groups.
Throughout the development of the WAV driver training there will be opportunities for people to contribute through forums such as information sessions, surveys and focus groups. We will keep you informed throughout this newsletter and the Commissioner's website.
You can also email us anytime at p2ptraining@transport.nsw.gov.au.
Will the training include information on dealing with different disability types?
Yes. A greater emphasis on disability awareness will be a feature of all driver training courses. People with lived experience of disability will not only be consulted throughout the development of courses but also be involved in the implementation and delivery of the courses.
How much will the online course cost?
The online theory course will be an interactive course that includes information, scenarios, videos, and quizzes. It will be freely available on the Commissioner's website for anyone in the point to point industry to utilise.
Participants will be issued a certificate upon completion and passing the course.
When will the online short course be available?
Endeavour Training is developing the online course and development is currently underway. We are aiming to have the course live on the Commissioner's website in the middle of 2025. We will keep you updated on all timelines.
Thank you, we hope you enjoyed the first edition of the Commissioner's wheelchair accessible vehicle driver training newsletter.
