A new Travellers Aid service hub will be open at Ballarat by early 2023 – and we couldn’t be prouder of extending our services to another regional location.
In 2020, the Victorian Government delivered $100,000 of improvements to reduce physical barriers to accessibility at Ballarat station. The new Travellers Aid service hub will build on the modifications already completed by adding mobility support for passengers connecting between different modes of transport at the Ballarat V/Line station. Our services will operate weekdays from 7.30am to 3.30pm.
Travellers Aid has a long standing partnership with V/Line, our volunteers assisting passengers with their travel needs at Southern Cross, Flinders Street and Seymour stations.
The new Ballarat hub is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure public transport is accessible to everyone throughout their journey.
The addition of Ballarat as a second regional Travellers Aid location will allow accessibility services to be extended further into Western Victoria – and will enable more travellers to have increased confidence when moving around the Ballarat station.
Travellers Aid volunteers will be available to help passengers between platforms, coach/bus bays, the taxi rank as well as car park drop off zones – significantly improving accessibility for V/Line passengers. Volunteers will be able to assist in numerous ways, including:
- providing a friendly companion to assist passengers with vision impairments
- a helpful hand for passengers with luggage
- wheelchair transport for passengers with limited mobility or temporary injuries to move around the station
Volunteers and staff are currently being recruited and trained. Elias Lebbos, CEO of Travellers Aid Australia says “our organisation is excited to be expanding into another regional Victorian centre to support V/Line services. Together we recognise that accessibility must underpin all of our services and, where there are limitations, Travellers Aid is the best solution for the one-to-one support. We are very much looking forward to rolling out our new service hub at Ballarat station”.
Learn more about volunteering with Travellers Aid here or email us at volunteers@travellersaid.org.au