Wheelchair users complain of shortage of accessible taxis

WHEELCHAIR users in Cork feel like prisoners in their own homes because they are finding it increasingly difficult to get accessible taxi’s to pick them up, it was claimed yesterday.

The Centre for Independent Living in Cork warned the service was “hit or miss” and that wheelchair users are left down all too often.

Spokeswoman Nicola Meacle insists she often struggles to get a taxi, particularly at weekends, even though the Taxi Regulators Office confirmed there are no fewer than 54 wheelchair licences for Cork.

“When you ring a company, you encounter such excuses as ‘there is no wheelchair taxi out’ or ‘ring back in half an hour’,” she said.

Labour party TD Kathleen Lynch has called for a rota system to be put in place at taxi firms in order to guarantee availability. She added it was time for Environment Minister Dick Roche to make regulations on the issue so that people with disabilities could be sure of having a taxi at their disposal.

Meanwhile, Tony Maher, director of transport policy with the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA), said the situation is repeated countrywide especially in rural areas.

“The current level of service is far from satisfactory for people with disabilities”, he said.

The IWA fully supports a call for regulations to ensure that accessible taxis are available in Cork at all times.

The National Taxi Drivers Union’s spokesman in Cork Michael O’Mahony admits there is a shortage of wheelchair-friendly taxis in Cork. He has called for the Government to lift the VAT on wheelchair taxis to give drivers an added incentive to buy them. Wheelchair taxis cost up to €30,000.