Disabled passengers abandoned as rideshare discrimination runs rampant

Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion calling out widespread and ongoing discrimination, abuse and fraud against taxi and rideshare passengers with disability.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House notes that:

recent media reporting has revealed horrific instances of abuse, discrimination and fraud perpetrated against disabled taxi and rideshare passengers across the country,
the NSW Point to Point Commissioner has for years received reports of disability discrimination and abuse, including of people who are blind and low vision with assistance animals having their rides cancelled or outright refused,
a Victorian woman, who is blind and uses a guide dog, is currently taking legal action against Uber in the Federal Court, alleging drivers have breached obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act after experiencing persistent discrimination for years with dozens of Uber drivers refusing to pick her and her guide dog up after booking trips,
according to a 2024 survey commissioned by Guide Dogs Australia, almost 50 percent of guide dog handlers had been refused a rideshare or taxi trip in the previous 24 months,
although taxi and rideshare drivers in NSW undergo disability awareness training sessions and have access to educational resources, cases of discrimination are still occurring at alarming rates. Awareness training that is merely a box-ticking exercise is not enough to change ableist societal attitudes and ensure people with disability are able to safely access point-to-point transport as they need,
the NSW regulator’s powers are limited in monitoring and enforcing compliance over large taxi and rideshare corporations such as A2B and Uber, including in relation to fraud detection measures, safety checks, complaint-handling and enforcement, and
Australia’s Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Rosemary Kayess, has called for urgent action from state regulators, labelling the taxi and rideshare industry’s persistent wrongdoing as reflective of its inability to self-regulate.

(2) That this House calls on the NSW Government to urgently review the NSW Point to Point Commission’s complaint-handling system, its powers to investigate discrimination and harassment and its resourcing capacity to enforce compliance across the taxi and rideshare industry.

20 February 2025

PUBLIC ENERGY FOR PUBLIC GOOD - SIGN THE PETITION!

Electricity is an essential service. But Labor and Liberal governments have sold off NSW’s energy assets and infrastructure, leaving us at the mercy of the private sector for our energy needs. The result has been soaring energy bills, with more and more people being forced into energy poverty.

A privatised energy system will never deliver a cheap and clean energy network - It’s time to take the power back.

As we transition to 100% renewable energy, we must learn from the mistakes of privatisation, ensure our energy assets are kept in public hands, and rein in the actions of private operators.

Communities across NSW have for too long been at the mercy of privatised power network operators who continue to put profit above people, acting recklessly and cutting corners without regard for community expectations.

Recent catastrophic power outages in regional NSW have made headlines for just this - in Broken Hill, the state’s only 100% privatised transmission network operator has failed to deliver a safe and secure energy network, leaving communities in the dark because of mismanagement and neglect in the pursuit of profit.

To build our case for bringing electricity back into public ownership, the Greens are calling for a public parliamentary inquiry into all NSW power network operators, their operation and corporate decision-making practices.

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Disabled passengers abandoned as rideshare discrimination runs rampant

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