Decentralisation portal continues its series of articles on community decisions that make public services and spaces more accessible. This time, we will share the experience of Dnipro, where a free “Social Taxi” service operates. Specially adapted vehicles help people with disabilities and those with reduced mobility to reach medical, social, rehabilitation, and other facilities. This article explains how the service works and how it changes the daily lives of the city’s residents, using the example of Liudmyla and Oleh, a married couple.

Liudmyla and her husband Oleh, both residents of Dnipro, use wheelchairs. As a result, travelling to different parts of the city was no easy task for the couple: “It was very difficult. In the past, we could still manage to get about somehow, but now we are physically unable to reach the relevant institution or hospital on our own,” says Liudmyla.

So, the couple books a social taxi to get to the hospital and other facilities located far from their home.

To use this service, a person needs to book in advance, roughly a week beforehand. On the day of the journey, the car arrives at the specified address. If necessary, the driver helps the passenger get in, secures the wheelchair inside the vehicle, and takes the person to their destination. Once their business is finished, the car takes the passenger home.

‘We always call the social taxi when we need to. It’s very convenient. It’s really important to us because we simply can’t collect the necessary documents without help. And thanks to the social taxi, I can go wherever I need to,’ says Liudmyla.

The “Social Taxi” service operates under the auspices of the “Step Forward” Centre for Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Social Support for People with Disabilities. The service is available to people with disabilities, children with disabilities, people with reduced mobility, and people with war-related disabilities.

There are currently eight specialised vehicles in operation, equipped with ramps or lifts. The service is free of charge – it is funded by the city council.

The “Social Taxi” helps people get to medical, rehabilitation and social care facilities, one-stop administrative service centres, educational institutions, legal aid centres and other organisations where they can access the services they need.

Almost 900 people use the service. These include internally displaced persons and veterans. This month, the city handed over two more vehicles to the centre, enabling people with war-related disabilities to use the service as well.

‘We can see just how much the “Social Taxi” makes people’s lives easier, and we are continuing to develop this service,’ says Kateryna Makarenko, Deputy Director of the “Step Forward” Rehabilitation and Social Assistance Centre.

Liudmyla and Oleh have experienced first-hand just how much more freedom and opportunity they have gained thanks to the specialised social taxi.

Within the framework of the project “Enhancing the Accessibility of Public Services and Communication in Communities”, we are sharing stories of successful community initiatives that help make public services and spaces more accessible to people with different needs. The project is implemented by CERR with the support of the “Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine”, which is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Estonia, Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.