Wheel weight: is a taxi available for the disabled in Russia
Social taxis are in demand for people with disabilities, but there are still serious problems with their accessibility: if both public and private services work more or less well in Moscow, then it is extremely difficult for a wheelchair-bound person to get out of the house in the regions. On International Taxi Driver's Day, which is celebrated on March 22, Izvestia examines how social taxis work in Russia and how to increase their availability.
Why do I need a social taxi?
Mikhail Terentyev, deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, chairman of the All—Russian Society of the Disabled, emphasizes that social taxis are a very popular service, especially where there is no developed public transport. People with disabilities can often travel by regular taxis, but not always.
Ekaterina Pankova, director of the hospice of the House with a Lighthouse Foundation for young adults, says that they mainly register children from 18 to 25 years old, many of whom use wheelchairs with large wheels or heavy electric trolleys. They won't get you on the subway if there's no elevator — even the escort service won't be able to lift; and you can't use a regular taxi on them. We need special cars in which you can drive without getting off the wheelchair.
— For those who have a Moscow registration and who are recognized as needing palliative care, there is a special taxi from the Palliative Care Center, — Ekaterina Pankova told Izvestia. — Such a social taxi must be booked three days before the trip and no later than the day before. It happens that it is already impossible to order in three days — everything has been sorted out.
The Moscow region has its own social taxi, but there are even fewer cars there.
— We had such curious cases when, for example, there is one such taxi in a small town, and if the car breaks down or the driver gets sick, the service immediately becomes unavailable, — she says. — The big problem is that the working hours of these services are limited: they do not travel late. It's impossible to go to an evening concert and leave at midnight in such a taxi.
Daria is a patient at the Dom with a Lighthouse hospice for young adults, and she has type II spinal muscular atrophy. She lives in Khimki, uses a wheelchair, but is very active: she is engaged in art, likes to read books, participates in Olympiads. But it's not possible to go to cultural events often — a taxi is not always available. A curious incident just happened to her: one day, instead of a taxi at a special rate, a luxury car arrived to meet foreign delegations. The driver behaved nobly — he waited for the whole event to pick up, because he was sure that they would not be able to find a new taxi. But the car was not designed at all for a girl with SMA — I had to look for assistants who could load the stroller inside the cabin.
Daria is currently using the Yandex special rate. Taxi" — this allows you not to get so attached to the plans. The hospice pays for the trip.
— This special tariff appeared not so long ago, and it changed the situation in Moscow, — says Ekaterina Pankova. — It can be ordered like a regular taxi. There aren't many cars, and sometimes you have to wait. There are limitations here too: taxis operate at a special rate in Moscow, and they also travel to the Moscow region, but you can no longer order a car from the Moscow region.
How a social taxi works in Moscow
The State Unitary Enterprise Mosgortrans told Izvestia that the city's social taxi service is available to children and adults with musculoskeletal disorders and group II visual disabilities, people with disabilities over 80 years old, WWII veterans, and large families who have received housing for free. All users must register in the register of recipients of the Social Taxi service at mos.ru , the Moscow Transport service center or the All-Russian Society of the Disabled.
The fleet of cars, according to Mosgortrans, is constantly being updated — this year seven new modern Russian-made buses with special equipment for working on collective requests were received.
The service works seven days a week, you can order a transport a few days before the trip. But only people with a Moscow residence permit can use it.
In December 2022, Yandex Go, with the support of the Moscow Department of Transport, launched the "Special" fare, which is a taxi for people who use wheelchairs. A Moscow residence permit is no longer needed here. The fare is usually a little more expensive than comfort. The company told Izvestia that you can call a car around the clock, the average pick—up time is 30 minutes. Customized minivans are available to order, equipped with a special lift and a five-point safety belt for attaching a wheelchair with a passenger. There are currently 50 such cars.
— All drivers of the "Special" fare have received special training together with specialists from Dom with a Lighthouse and ANO Equal Opportunities Space, — said Yandex Go. — They know how to respond to unusual situations that may arise during trips, and also know how to handle wheelchairs and operate a lift. in the car.
The fare can only be used by passengers in wheelchairs with accompanying persons.
How disabled taxis work
So far, the special tariff is valid only from Moscow and the Moscow region. For all other passengers with special needs, the company has introduced a "Accessibility Screen" that works in any region.: These are free in-app options that apply to most tariffs. A passenger can ask for help finding a car; notify that he communicates only by text; does not speak, but hears; inform that he will have a wheelchair that can be put in the trunk; that a guide dog will be with him.
Maxim Taxi also talked about additional features that make it convenient to travel: you can indicate special needs in a comment on the order, whether it's a guide dog, a wheelchair, etc.
— The driver will be able to make an adequate decision whether his car is suitable for fulfilling this order. For example, is it roomy enough to carry chairs or crutches," the taxi service's press service explained. — After all, drivers work in different cars, mostly budget sedans, but there are also very compact models and tall crossovers that can be difficult to get into and out of. But there is an additional "Driver Assistance" service in the service.
The taxi service's application is adapted for use by people with disabilities: for the blind, the information on the screen is correctly read by a speech synthesizer, and the deaf and dumb can communicate with the driver in the built-in chat.
In the fall of 2024, Roskachestvo conducted research on the accessibility of basic taxi applications for blind users. Sergey Kuzmenko, head of the Roskachestvo Digital Expertise Center, said that in most cases, the services are not fully accessible to the blind.
"The most common mistakes are unsigned elements for screen readers, incorrect focusing, and difficult authorization," he told Izvestia.
The top three available taxis for the blind are Yandex Go, Uber, and Maxim.
What is the situation with social taxis in the regions?
Things are more complicated outside of Moscow. Kirill, a patient at Home with a Lighthouse who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has been using an electric wheelchair since he was eight years old. He lives in the Moscow region.
"I have not used the municipal social taxi service — it is very difficult to get it," he told Izvestia. — The car needs to be ordered a few days in advance if it is not in repair. She's not free on all days of the week. There is a time limit on departure, and you need to return no later than 5 p.m.
At the same time, he can't even use an ambulance, because the electric car is not included there. The special tariff is now saving, but you can only use it in Moscow and travel to the region, which also restricts Kirill's movements.
Mikhail Terentyev, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs, chairman of the All-Russian Society of the Disabled, emphasizes that most often social taxis are linked to the Active Longevity program and serve mainly the needs of the elderly, while young people with disabilities have to limit themselves in activity. At the same time, there is no general regulation of this issue. For example, in the Moscow region, such cars are usually tied to municipalities that simply do not have enough money.
The All-Russian Society for the Blind notes that the demand for social taxis is often higher than the number of cars. There are private social taxis, but the fares are very high.
— In many regions of the Russian Federation, regional and local authorities provide a free car for transporting people with disabilities, WWII participants, etc. The order is made by phone three days before the trip, but there is no guarantee that the car will be free on the chosen date and time, — said the VOS.
Elena Kuzmina, social affairs lawyer at the SMA Family Foundation, also talks about the limitations of regional social taxis. They often work only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Making an appointment with the train at midnight is already a problem.
Another serious limitation concerns the range of organizations to which a state social taxi can take you: a hospital, social institutions, an administration, a Pension fund, and, in fact, everything. It is often impossible to call a social taxi to theaters, cinemas, shopping malls, or just take a walk in the city center.
So far, Ulyana Glazunova, a social worker at the charity foundation "Live Now" (which helps people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), believes that government efforts in this area are close to "zero" — a social taxi exists, but its capabilities are extremely limited.
The foundation conducted a small survey among its wards. Of the 58 people with ALS surveyed, more than 70% do not use social taxis. One third of the wards simply do not have such a service in the region. Others note the bureaucratic difficulties with the order, the insufficient equipment of vehicles for transporting bedridden patients or wheelchair users, the high cost, etc.
MP Mikhail Terentyev notes that without the support of regional authorities, it is difficult for municipalities to organize a high-quality social taxi service. At the same time, it is not very profitable for private companies to establish a special taxi service, because this requires expensive cars.
"In the end, everything depends on the economy, so, of course, support is needed — perhaps subsidies or leasing programs for the purchase of special vehicles," Mikhail Terentyev told Izvestia. — It would be great if the Ministry of Labor, together with the Ministry of Transport at the federal level, thought about this.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
