Taksometru piekļūstamība personām ar invaliditāti un mazu bērnu vecākiem Latvijas valstspilsētās - Taxi Accessibility for PwD and Parents of Young Children

The study 'Accessibility of Taxis for Persons with Disabilities and Parents of Young Children' aimed to identify and assess the situation regarding the availability and accessibility of taxis in Latvian state cities for persons with various types of disabilities (visual, hearing, movement, mental impairments) and parents of young children. The SKDS research centre conducted the study at the Ombudsman's request.

The experience of persons with disabilities in the availability of taxi services, awareness of the available services, assessment of persons with disabilities on the taxi booking process, knowledge and attitude of taxi drivers, price and availability of taxi services, safety and comfort were clarified in focus discussion groups and in-depth interviews. During the discussions, problems and challenges faced by persons with disabilities in everyday use of taxi services were identified – financial barriers and lack of discounts, awareness of taxi drivers, communication problems, lack of specialised transport, lack of technological accessibility, problems in the availability of specialised taxi services in rural areas, language barriers and technical requirements for taxis.

The study includes recommendations on how to improve taxi availability, including improving legislation and regulations, educating and training taxi workers, setting legislative requirements for adapted vehicles, improving communication and service in the taxi booking process, improving and diversifying the availability and dissemination of information, and the need for state support and loyalty programmes.

The main conclusions are that the availability (accessibility) of taxi services is different and depends on the type of disability and place of residence, and improvements need to be made by adapting vehicles to the needs of various customers; it is necessary to promote awareness and empathy of drivers towards passengers with specific requirements. The most common problems in the use of taxi services are for persons with reduced mobility – for example, the lack of suitable taxis and vaguely defined technical characteristics of taxis at the time of booking. Persons with visual impairments most often face inappropriate technical solutions in booking taxis, difficulties in identifying the called taxi or booking it due to the lack of access to customised applications or the possibility to call a taxi by phone.

See also Taxi service mapping. 

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