The Ukrainian Red Cross is piloting a social taxi service with support from the Austrian Red Cross
The Ukrainian Red Cross has launched a pilot social taxi service — an initiative designed to support people with limited mobility who require transport to medical or rehabilitation facilities but are unable to reach these locations independently.
The social taxi will provide safe and comfortable transportation within the city. In its initial phase, the service will be available to beneficiaries of the Home-Based Care programme — primarily older adults living alone and people with disabilities.
“The service will be available to individuals who require medical examinations outside their homes, have temporary mobility issues such as fractures, or are otherwise unable to move around the city independently,”- says Oleksandr Babenko, Acting Head of the Health Department at the Ukrainian Red Cross.
The service includes:
- assistance from volunteers in helping individuals get from their homes to the vehicle (ambulance) using a wheelchair or stretcher;
- accompanying individuals to medical facilities for scheduled examinations or procedures;
- transport back home after the visit.
The pilot will be conducted in the Lviv, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, and Chernihiv regions. Following an evaluation of the initial results and team performance, the service will be expanded to other regions of Ukraine.
The introduction of the social taxi service marks another step towards improving access to healthcare for those who need it most.