Independent, evidence-focused, and fair to everyone

Purpose

This independent research looks at the availability, reliability, accessibility and fairness of on-demand, door-to-door wheelchair-accessible transport in metropolitan Adelaide — mainly Access Taxis and accessible rideshare. It also looks at the working conditions, earnings and incentives that shape how drivers provide these services, and whether other ways of running a service could work better.

What's in scope

Publicly available, on-demand, door-to-door wheelchair-accessible transport that anyone can book — services that should not require NDIS funding or another government-funded transport arrangement. Scheduled buses, trains and specialist community transport are not part of this research.

Who can take part

• Passengers: people who use, need, or have had difficulty getting wheelchair-accessible transport in metropolitan Adelaide, and carers or support people responding on their behalf.
• Drivers: current, former and prospective drivers involved in providing wheelchair-accessible transport, including standard taxi and rideshare drivers.

Who is running it

This research is run by AKEGO. It is not a transport booking service, a commercial transport operator, or an official government survey.

How we recruit

We share the surveys through disability and carer organisations, community groups, driver networks, social media, posters and word of mouth. Links may include a broad source tag (for example "poster" or "facebook") so we know which channels work. This tag is never linked to who you are.

Survey dates

The surveys open on Friday 13 November 2026 and close on Monday 7 December 2026.

Participation and consent

Taking part is voluntary. You can skip any question and stop at any time. Submitting the survey means you agree to your anonymous answers being used in the combined research findings. See Privacy & consent.

How we report findings

We report combined statistics with the number of people who answered each question. Small groups are suppressed so no one can be identified. Free-text comments are reviewed before any are quoted, and identifying details are removed. Individual responses are never published.

We clearly separate different kinds of information:

1. Passenger-reported experiences
2. Driver self-reported practices
3. Conduct people say they personally witnessed
4. Second-hand accounts
5. Opinions and perceptions
6. Independently verified findings, if any become available

This research has no access to individual drivers' lifting-fee claims data. Nothing in our findings should be read as proof that any person has done anything wrong.

Limitations

This is a voluntary survey. The people who choose to respond may not be representative of all transport users or drivers in Adelaide. People with strong experiences, good or bad, may be more likely to take part. Passenger and driver surveys are separate and anonymous, so answers from the two groups are compared at a summary level only — never matched to each other.

South Australian context

Access Taxi services in South Australia operate under rules set by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, including the South Australian Transport Subsidy Scheme (SATSS), lifting fees for eligible journeys, booking allocation and driver preferencing arrangements, accessible vehicle requirements and passenger assistance and safety standards. For current official information, see the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and sa.gov.au.