ParaQuad News

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ParaQuad News • Issue 1 Autumn 2016 13
latest news
Advocacy groups have cautioned
that Uber’s growth will make it
more challenging for people with
a disability to get around, unless
safeguards are put in place.
In December, NSW and Western
Australia joined the ACT in legalising
Uber and other ride-sharing services,
but the service is yet to be legalised
in Victoria.
In the US the rise of ride-sharing
services, including Uber, has seen
a strain placed on people with a
disability with drivers opting to work
for Uber over traditional cabs.
In San Francisco the introduction
of ride-sharing saw the number of
wheelchair friendly cabs drop from
100 in 2013 to just 64 in 2015.
But the group is not opposed to
ride-sharing being legalised, as long
as there are services for those who
need it.
Uber says up to 10 percent of its
journeys in Australia are through
UberAssist, a specific service for
people with a disability.
Uber is also trialling uberWAV in
a bid to get more wheelchair and
scooter friendly cars on the road
by working with privately-owned
wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Co-payment Changes to
EAP Band 3 Consumers
As an incentive for Band
3 income consumers to use
the Equipment Allocation
Program (EAP), EnableNSW
say Band 3 income
consumers requesting
equipment from the EAP
stock (new or reissued)
are now only required to
contribute a $100 co-
payment rather than 20% of
the value of the item. Where
additional features or custom
alterations are required the
consumer will contribute
20% of the cost of the
alteration or addition.
EnableNSW
News
Disability groups fear Uber
will kill off wheelchair cabs
With constant advances in
technology, there are a range of
disability converted vehicles available
in today’s market: from cars with
ramps, hoists and lifters, right
through to sophisticated hand and
foot controls to assist drivers with
limited mobility.
Like most technological
breakthroughs, disability vehicle
conversions come at a price.
In many cases the cost of the
conversions are higher than the
value of the vehicle itself.
This can create issues when
it comes to insuring your car.
Most insurers are not familiar with
disability conversions, and this
means they may not be able to
provide comprehensive cover at a
reasonable price.
It can also mean that you may be
facing the risk of underinsurance.
Most insurers depreciate the value
of the conversion in the same way
they depreciate the value of a car.
The problem is that most disability
conversions don’t depreciate over
time. If anything, materials and
labour get more expensive with
each passing year. This creates a
significant risk of underinsurance.
Nik Witcombe, Blue Badge
Insurance CEO, says, “we’ve had
some customers who have spent
over $50,000 to convert their vehicle
but later found it was insured for less
than $10,000. As you can imagine,
this can be quite devastating if they
were to be involved in an accident.”
Blue Badge Insurance is the first
disability insurance specialist in
Australia and they cover a wide
range of conversions. They also
give you the choice of new for old
replacement on your conversions to
protect you from significant financial
loss if you have an accident.
For more information, contact
Blue Badge Insurance.
Is your car really covered?
They are running a promotion
where you could win car insurance
for a year. To enter, all you need to
do is get a car insurance quote.
Call 1300 304 802 or go to