Providing Accessible Taxi Services In All Our Cities And Communities

In the chain of accessible tourism and travel, taxis represent a very important link

Mohamed Mezghani, Secretary General of the International Union of Public Transport (UITP) has just confirmed his attendance at the 2018 Destinations for All, World Summit, where he will moderate a session that will focus on the mission to create accessible and affordable taxi services for people with disabilities within our local communities.

The session will address the main objective laid out in Article 10 of “A World for Everyone” that taxi and limousine dispatch companies are “to provide transportation services for persons with disabilities equivalent to those enjoyed by the general public”, and which was adopted in Montreal in 2014. The article is explicit in its stance on taxi accessibility for wheelchair users. Local authorities and public transport companies cannot continue to remain indifferent to the need for mobility for all, for any length of time. For this reason, UITP General Secretary Mohamed Mezghani will head the special seminar on this topic. The question of “How to ensure taxi service accessibility to everyone in each of our communities?” will be highlighted and central to the discussion. Eight international experts will present their experiences and opinions. This seminar will undoubtedly raise considerable interest from local authorities, especially those whose communities do not benefit from such a transport service.

About the UITP

UITP (Union Internationale des Transports Publics) is the International Association of Public Transport and a passionate champion of sustainable urban mobility. It is the only worldwide network to bring together all public transport stakeholders and all sustainable transport modes.

UITP is represented by 1500 member companies in 96 countries, and has 18,000 contact members and 16 offices worldwide.

Mohamed Mezghani, the UITP Secretary General, will welcome the following speakers

Matthew Daus, President of the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR). The association is dedicated to the regulation of passenger conveyance particularly taxi and for-hire transportation. Mr Daus is a lawyer and Distinguished Lecturer at City University of New York and former Commissioner and Chairman of the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Ms Ann Frye, an internationally renowned expert in the field of transportation services for people with disabilities and the elderly. She has worked at the European Commission, the International Transportation Forum and the United Nations, notably on the economic aspects of transporting disabled and elderly people.
Ms Mary Crass, Head of Institutional Relations and Summit, International Transport Forum.
Mr Eric Lipp, Executive Director of the Open Doors/Open Taxis Organization in Chicago. This representative organization of persons with disabilities now manages the accessible taxi service available throughout the City of Chicago and is funded by a contribution from all non-accessible taxis.
Ms Katy O’Reilly, Program Coordinator, Open Doors Organization, Chicago.
Ms Isabelle Ducharme, Chairman of the Board of Kéroul (Montreal) and member of the International Association of Transportation Regulators Advisory Committee (IATR). Disabled herself, Ms Ducharme has repeatedly presented a universal solution to the availability of accessible taxi services.
Mr André Leclerc, President and Chief Executive Officer and founder of Kéroul and member of the Board of Directors of the Bureau du taxi de Montréal. Mr. Leclerc chaired the Committee on the Universal Accessibility of the Montreal Taxi Industry, which recommended a standard for the availability of an accessible taxi service in Montreal.

More to come…

UITP also plans to host a public transport accessibility workshop to discuss industry best practices as described in the brochure “Travel for all : the commitment of European public transport “

The detailed programme for this public transport accessibility workshop is in gestation. Stay tuned for more information.

The session will be held on Monday 1 October in Brussels as part of #DFA2018

View the programme-at-a-glance