Public transport providers will have a clearer understanding of their obligations to people with disabilities, the elderly and people travelling with children following the release of new industry guidelines the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock said today. The Attorney-General's comments came at the launch of the Bus Industry Confederation's Bus and Coach Operators' Guidelines for the Disability Discrimination Act, in Canberra. "The Australian Government's Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport and the Confederation's Guidelines provide tangible benefits to people with disabilities by requiring practical improvements to public transport," Mr Ruddock said. The Australian Government's Standards were made under the Disability Discrimination Act and came into effect in October 2002. They were developed after a long period of consultation with organisations representing people with disabilities and with various transport industry bodies. The Standards prescribe practical measures to improve the accessibility of public transport to people with disabilities. There are particular requirements regarding ramps and boarding devices, allocated spaces, handrails, doorways, controls, symbols and signs, paying fares, providing information, access paths, manoeuvring areas, belongings and more. The Standards apply to all new equipment and provide compliance targets for all equipment five, 10, 15 and 20 years after the date the Standards entered into force. "Compliance with the Standards by public transport operators and providers is essential in making public transport more accessible to people with disabilities," Mr Ruddock said. "I congratulate the Bus Industry Confederation on taking a proactive stance and developing the first industry-specific guidelines to the Standards. "They will greatly assist bus and coach operators understand their obligations under the Standards and how to achieve compliance to remove discrimination from public transport services," Mr Ruddock said. Source MEDIA RELEASE, ATTORNEY-GENERAL, THE HON PHILIP RUDDOCK MP - 5 November 2003 ###