As part of our advocacy, #OneAccesibility we will share information about differently able and profile one location with accessible trails. Look out every week for this enlightening post.
This week I am going to bring to light my personal experience with the ferry system in my home town Sydney. On the 27 July 2019 I organised a One Accessibility Meetup in the city of Sydney Australia One of the modes of transportation during my meet up involved catching a ferry to Cockatoo Island in Sydney’s beautiful harbour.
@PaulPavlinovich and his partner Chris flew up fromMelbourne Australia to join me during this meetup. Chris was having problems with her hips and legs and was unable to walk for very long periods of time. Paul hired her a wheelchair so she can still join in on the day. This made my meet up much more interesting because it meant we would see first hand how easy or difficult the ferry ride to Cockatoo Island would be.
The first thing we needed to do was to make sure our Opal Cards were loaded with enough money for the ferry ride. “Opal cards are smartcard tickets that you keep, top up and reuse to pay for travel on public transport. Simply add value to your Opal card then tap on and tap off to pay your fares on metro, trains, buses, ferries and light rail.”
The Opal ticketing machine was at a perfect height for Chris to be able to top up her Opal card while sitting in her wheelchair. The jetty where we were catching the ferry was nearby and easily accessible with the wheelchair and the entrance was more than wide enough and tapping the opal card was very convenient.
While we waited for our ferry to arrive, I noticed a group of people also waiting in wheelchairs. This was a great indication to me that the journey was going to be easy for all. When the ferry arrived the crew put up a ramp for everyone to easily board. There was also lots of space inside the ferry for all of the people who had just boarded in wheelchairs. The whole journey was very easy and pleasant, and if anyone needed help the friendly staff were ready to assist.
On the journey back from Cockatoo Island, I also noticed a Hearing Loop sign on a pole. You can read all about hearing loops in my last post.
Do you have a question, suggestion or contribution? Feel free to leave a comment! You can read last week’s roundup clicking here, and check the list of our other articles under "Accessibility Uncovered".
You can also learn more about our project and team at oneaccessibility.org
It touches the important aspect of accessibility uncovered but also because shows how beautiful is to meet Local Guides during meet-up and explore together beautiful places around us. Very nice the description and good to know that people were so kind and helpful.
