Swipe cards in, taxi chits out for Mobility Scheme users
By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
West Coasters with mobility problems will soon be able to use a swipe card for subsidised taxi trips, instead of paper vouchers.
The regional council, which administers the Total Mobility scheme on the Coast, is switching from taxi chits to a card system, bringing the region into line with the rest of the country.
More than 900 people on the West Coast are Total Mobility users.
The scheme is 75% subsidised by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), 20% by the regional council and the user pays the remainder, with a cap of $30 per trip.
A staff report to Tuesday's Resource Management Committee said the paper vouchers were outdated.
“The chit system is unreliable, difficult to administer, susceptible to fraud and poses problems for those who wish to travel between regions.”
Staff were proposing a change to a digital system, and contract with three companies to provide software, print the cards, and supply card readers for taxi companies as needed.
It would cost $35,000 to make the change but with NZTA subsidies of $21,500 the set-up cost to the regional council would be $14,354 plus GST.
The council’s ongoing costs with the new system would be an extra $3 per taxi trip - $1159 a year.
Council chairperson Peter Haddock told LDR the West Coast was one of only two Total Mobility operators in the country still using paper vouchers.
“The swipe card system brings us into line with most other regions and it’ll be more convenient for people with mobility challenges - and it’ll save our staff time and be lot easier to administer.”
CCS Disability Action’s West Coast manager, Kelly Blomfield, is welcoming the change.
“Having a card will make it much easier for our people, not having to trek back and forth to the council asking for vouchers when you can’t get around easily to start with.”
The cards had the approved user’s photo on them, making them much less vulnerable to fraud, Blomfield said.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
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