When you suffer from a spinal cord injury it doesn’t mean that you have to stay at home all the time or be dependent on someone else to take you where you need to go. Instead you can order an accessible taxi within the city to transport you,where ever you chose to go.
The Accessible Dispatch Program is a fairly new program that someone with a spinal cord injury NY can access through calling 311. The system seems to be working very well because there are certain taxis that are set up specifically to help people with disabilities get around and within the city of New York.
Just like any taxi service the calls come into a central dispatch center and you must let them know that you are disabled. This will help them route your call to one of the drivers who has an accessible cab and who can transport you very easily.
The United Spinal Association was chosen by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, to provide training to drivers on how to secure a wheelchair properly and the proper etiquette to work with clients who have disabilities and spinal cord injuries.
The good thing is that you will not have to pay more for an accessible cab than you would for a traditional cab. Also, the Accessible Dispatch Program is only for those people who have disabilities. This means you will not have to worry about waiting too long for the cab to take you to your destination, especially if you want to go in or around the five boroughs.
This is a very good start for the program but there is still need for improvement. The Taxis For All Campaign is still lobbying for a mandated but gradual conversion of all yellow cabs to accessible rides for all disabled passengers.
It is important that you use these cabs if you have a back injury or back pain because the program is a two year pilot study. Usually in these types of studies they will look at whether the program was used or not and they will need significant data.
If people are not using the service, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission will not see a need to continue the program especially for spinal injuries. This can be an excellent service for those people with spinal injuries who do not have another mode of transportation.
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