Mobility help coming to Ballarat Station

SERVICES provided by not-for-profit Travellers Aid are coming to Ballarat Station in early 2023.

People who need assistance to move through the station will be able to seek help from the organisation’s staff and volunteers.

“Where infrastructure fails or doesn’t meet standards, we come in and provide a human solution to that,” Travellers Aid operations manager Maria Groner said.

“Ballarat Station isn’t very accessible if you need to change platforms, or go between the coach terminal, town buses, taxi rank or carpark.

“VLine is contracting us to provide connection assistance within Ballarat Station, so that’s helping people with mobility issues, with luggage if that’s an issue, parents with prams and young children, and whatever it takes to make that connection and transit through the station more comfortable for people.”

It’s expected that power-assist wheelchairs will be available as soon as the on-site Travellers Aid office opens, and Ms Groner said the organisation is seeking volunteers.

“We will run the service with one paid full-time staff member, and the support of volunteers, which is a very similar model to what we operate at Seymour Station as well.

“We really need to recruit volunteers, and I’m sure as time goes on, we will build the service and add value to it,” she said.

People that require Travellers Aid support will be able to book services via phone, online or in person, or arrive on the day.

But Ms Groner said VLine staff, conductors and public bus drivers will also be able to alert the office if passengers are needing assistance.

Travellers Aid was established in 1916 to support women and children arriving into Melbourne.

“We’ve always had a location at Southern Cross Station. Since 2008, we’ve been back at Flinders Street Station,” Ms Groner said.

The organisation provides meals, toilet, and communication assistance for people with disabilities at both stations, and operates a buggy service, and mobility assistance, to help people get from one end of Southern Cross Station to the other.