I RECENTLY compared notes with a gentleman who, more than 30 years ago, was chairman of Ecas – a voluntary organisation dedicated to supporting disabled people. We concluded that, despite improvements, transport remains one of our biggest challenges.
This surprises people because we now have the taxi card, the Scottish Concessionary Card, community transport and motability cars.
We also have a council whose Local Transport Strategy's vision is: "Edinburgh aspires to be a city with a transport system that is accessible to all and serves all. It should contribute to better health, safety and quality of life of all Edinburgh's citizens and visitors, particularly children, the elderly and disabled people."
The sad fact is that without adequate transport, virtually all other initiatives to support people socially excluded due to severe mobility impairments are doomed to failure.
There are many people who are mobility impaired, some in very complex ways, to the extent that they cannot use buses, or even taxis; they require specialist transport (such as Handicabs) and this is in very short supply. Many are not entitled to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and so cannot have a motability car – even if they could they may not be physically able to drive. The Scottish Concessionary Card's free bus transport is no use as they cannot get to the bus stop and on the bus – and it is not valid on specialist services. The taxi card provides a £3 subsidy for 104 journeys a year, £3 does not get you far in a taxi these days.
Ecas runs activities for those with physical disabilities. A survey showed that 50 per cent of those who rely on specialist transport are unable to get it when they need it; they either have to pay for taxis (if they can use them) or miss the class.
So, where do we go from here? Frankly, the situation is a mess. The benefits system and disability issues are reserved to Westminster; transport is devolved to Holyrood; the council supports community transport and the taxi card. It is thus easy for all three to blame each other for the gaps and it is also confusing as we are faced with different and complex rules for different services.
In 2004, the council had plans (never implemented) to spend an additional £1 million a year on specialist transport and I am heartened by the continued political acceptance that what we have is unacceptable. But we really need an overhaul of the system to ensure everyone who needs support gets it. At Ecas, we do not believe this necessarily means more money; the first stage should be a review of best practice elsewhere to try and use existing money better.
This idea is not popular with council officials but thankfully councillors are insisting it happens. We will need far more action from council officers if the authority's vision that I quote above is ever to become a reality.
•
David Griffiths is chief executive of Ecas.