Advises on the planning, funding, and administration of the Total Mobility scheme in Christchurch having regard to Environment Canterbury, users and operators of the Scheme and New Zealand Transport Agency’s requirements.
Terms of Reference
- Purpose Statement
To advise on the planning, funding, and administration of the Total Mobility scheme in Christchurch having regard to Environment Canterbury, users and operators of the Scheme and New Zealand Transport Agency’s requirements.
- Liaison Committee
The Christchurch Total Mobility Committee is a liaison committee of Environment Canterbury. The Committee is a Concessionary Fare Scheme Committee meeting the terms of New Zealand Transport Agency’s Competitive Pricing Procedures (Volume II – Public Passenger Transport).
- Membership
- There shall be no more than 18 members, inclusive of the Chairperson
- Membership of the Committee shall usually be for a three-year term, appointed as soon as practicable following the local authority triennial elections, with people able to stand for succeeding terms.
- Membership will be made up from appointments as follows:
- Environment Canterbury – 5 members
(Appointments should include Councillors, staff members and/or other representative as the Council sees fit.)
- User Groups – 5 members
(Appointments should cover a range of disability areas; age, intellectual, physical, psychiatric and sensory. Nominations should be sought from current Christchurch Total Mobility Agencies (2 representatives) and DPA (Christchurch and Districts) (3 representatives) with each disability area (as listed above) entitled to have one representative).
Note: The selection panel has the discretion to waive the defined number of representatives from the Disabled Persons Assembly (3) or the Christchurch Total Mobility Agencies (2) based on the relative nominees ability to represent the appropriate User group(s).
- Operator Groups – 5 members
(Appointments should be made from each taxi company (one (1) per company) contracted to Environment Canterbury to provide Total Mobility services, up to a maximum of five (5) members.)
- The Committee may co-opt up to 3 members, with terms of membership as the Committee sees fit, in order to ensure a representation of views and interests on the Committee, to add desired skills on the Committee or otherwise improve the working of the Committee.
- Chairperson
Environment Canterbury as the tendering authority is required to appoint the Chairperson for the Committee. This person does not need to be one of the Council’s representatives.
- Quorum
Seven members, which must include at least one member from each of the three groups (Environment Canterbury, User Group, Operator Group).
- Meetings
- Meetings shall be held as required but with a minimum of three per year.
- Usual meeting procedures will be followed.
- Minutes will be taken at each meeting and held on record at the Environment Canterbury. Environment Canterbury is responsible for providing secretarial services. The secretary may be a committee member as appointed under clause 3(iii).
- Responsibilities
- Budget
- To advise Environment Canterbury on Total Mobility budget requirements
- To assist the Council with managing monthly budget targets
- Taxi Services
- To monitor Total Mobility services and their safety for people with disabilities
- To recommend taxi company participation in the scheme
- To recommend funding for installation of wheelchair hoists
- Agencies
- To recommend and monitor agency allocation of vouchers
- To authorise agency participation in the scheme
- “In Committee”
- Resolutions passed will be recorded in the Minutes
- General
- To monitor the action taken about complaints, enquiries, requests from users and providers
- To make and advise Environment Canterbury on submissions to appropriate bodies about matters affecting the Total Mobility scheme
- To address other matters relating to Total Mobility as they come to hand
- To promote the service within the appropriate budget limitations
About the Total Mobility Scheme
The Total Mobility scheme assists eligible people with impairments to access appropriate transport to enhance their community participation. This assistance is provided in the form of subsidised door to door transport services wherever scheme transport providers operate.
Eligible individuals are able to access Total Mobility vouchers that enable them to receive subsidised taxi fares with approved service providers (taxi companies) who participate in the scheme.
In Christchurch, the subsidy is set at 50 % of the taxi fare up to a maximum of $35.00 per voucher at present.
All individuals with impairments wishing to access Total Mobility vouchers must undergo an assessment to ascertain if they meet the eligibility criteria set by New Zealand Transport Agency, and adopted by Environment Canterbury.
General information on total mobility (pdf 43kB)
Total Mobility application form (pdf 270 kB)
Total Mobility Taxi Driver Reward Programme
The Christchurch Total Mobility Committee (a liaison committee of Environment Canterbury) introduced a Total Mobility taxi driver reward programme from the beginning of 2011.
The purpose of the reward programme is to acknowledge Total Mobility taxi drivers who give outstanding service to Total Mobility customers.
If you receive Total Mobility vouchers (discounted taxi vouchers) in the Christchurch area and your taxi driver provides exceptional service to you; then you can nominate them for these awards by contacting the taxi company your driver works for. Your feedback will be used by the taxi company to help them identify which drivers provide the best service. Participating taxi companies can then nominate one wheelchair accessible taxi driver and one car driver from within their organisation for a reward.
The nominations would then be presented to the Total Mobility Committee to choose suitable winners on a six-monthly basis (once in June and again in December).
The winners will each receive a certificate for their achievement, and the taxi company employing those drivers will be sent a letter acknowledging the drivers' great service.
Participating taxi companies
There are currently four taxi companies who participate in the Total Mobility scheme within Christchurch, and they have asked that people contact them on the following phone numbers to put forward nominations:
- Blue Star Taxis: ph 379 9820 (between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm)
- City Maxi Taxis: ph 343 0390
- First Direct: ph 377 2789
- Gold Band Taxis: ph 379 5795