More than 128,800 people in the City of Philadelphia live with an
ambulatory disability yet only 7 of the 1,599 taxicabs in Philadelphia are Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs). 2
If the new regulation is approved, every medallion taxicab in
Philadelphia will be gradually replaced by a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle over 8 years.
- In London, every taxicab
has been a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle since 1988.
- New York gained nationwide attention for
committing to 50% accessibility by 2020.
- Philadelphia can do better.
Who else benefits from WAVs?
- Older adults
- Families with strollers
- Shoppers with packages
- Travelers with luggage
- Taxpayers
- The family, friends and co-workers of hundreds
of thousands of disabled customers
What about cost?
- A fully integrated taxicab fleet will save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars by reducing need for the region’s costly paratransit services.
- Philadelphia taxicab companies stand to gain hundreds of thousands of new customers by serving the whole population rather than just a segregated segment.
2015 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It’s time we move forward in the City of Brotherly Love, with Liberty and Taxis For All.
