United Spinal Association Test Rides Standard Taxi at National Taxi Summit in NYC
Terence J. Moakley, director of United Spinal Association’s Taxis For All-North America project, reversed his wheelchair into the Standard Taxi prototype, the first factory-built sedan taxi that also incorporates wheelchair access features such as a front wheelchair seating location and a recessed access ramp, at the National Accessible Taxi Summit in New York City, April 11, 2007. Moakley has been actively involved in the accessible taxi movement since 1996 and is recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts on wheelchair-accessible taxicabs. Manufacture of the Standard Taxi is set to begin in 2008.
Moakley stated, “United Spinal Association believes that accessible taxis are the missing link in a fully-accessible transportation system in our nation. And, we believe there is a persuasive economic incentive to increase them: once greater numbers of accessible taxis are available, the demand for ADA-required paratransit service will shrink and cities’ costs will go down.” Moakley added, “Accessible taxis are a win-win, for local public transportation systems and people with disabilities.”
United Spinal Association is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with spinal cord injuries and disorders. The organization drafted significant portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Air Carrier Access Act. United Spinal pioneered accessible transit in New York City, which became a nationwide model for implementing the public bus and rail system provisions of the ADA, and they continue to press for the rights of people with disabilities through state and federal legislation, the courts, grass roots advocacy, and education.
For more information about United Spinal’s “Taxis For All-North America” online advocacy project, please visit www.taxisforallNA.org.