A viral video of disabled people struggling up the steps of Unanderra railway station and a $25 million funding promise by her political opponents have failed to sway Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian to fast-track lifts for the station.
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Lifts campaigner Bec Schmidt said on Friday she had been "disheartened" with the response provided by Ms Berejiklian despite a meeting earlier this year.
Ms Schmidt met the minister in January and had hopes something positive would arise from it.
However, her hopes were dashed in a letter from the minister that made no funding commitment for the lifts.
This is in stark contrast to Wollongong MP Noreen Hay who, last month, pledged $25 million to build the lifts if Labor wins the state election.
Ms Berejiklian's letter details the work of the $770 million Transport Access Program, adding that the government has made 24 stations accessible and is planning for another 19.
"More planning and design work will now occur to see which projects will come next," Ms Berejiklian's letter said. "A lift at Unanderra station will be considered as part of this process."
The response is similar to statements Ms Berejiklian has made previously on the issue of the lifts.
Ms Schmidt, a former Transport for NSW employee, was disappointed and said she found the letter impersonal.
"I am very disheartened by this, as an ex-transport worker, I can tell a generic response letter when I see it," Ms Schmidt said. "There may have been a couple of parts added to it but the majority seems to be the general answer most people would get about this inquiry."
The campaign received international attention after the Mercury ran a video showing double amputee Toby Lyndon crawling up the stairs, which Ms Berejiklian labelled "distressing".
Ms Schmidt said she was surprised the international attention seemed to have no effect.
"I find it pretty odd that she's happy to dismiss it when there are so many other people in other countries watching what she does on this."
Ms Schmidt said the fight was not over and the Unanderra Access Group (UAG) would hold a public rally at the station car park at 7pm on Wednesday, March 18.
"We're definitely going ahead with that now," Ms Schmidt said.
"I can't really see any other way that we can get her attention.
"As a group, we decided that would be the best approach to get as much attention from the public and the media as we can for the stair issue. We're asking people to bring their own signs and placards that say their reasons for wanting the station upgraded."
The stairs have long caused serious access issues for the disabled, senior citizens and parents.
Unanderra resident Melanie Jennison, a mother of two young children, told the Mercury last week her family had given up using the station because it was just too difficult to get her daughter and baby son, their pram and other essentials, up the stairs.
Ms Schmidt said UAG had the support of the Maritime Union of Australia, which donated $680 for UAG to print T-shirts for the campaign.
