Metered Services for On-demand Point-to-point Transport Options for Users of Motorised and High-back Wheelchairs
Ministry of TransportSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms Raeesah Khan’s inquiry on expanding on-demand metered transport and subsidies for vehicles that accommodate motorised and high-back wheelchairs. Minister S Iswaran identified current options like SMRT’s London Cabs and GrabAssistPlus, while noting that the Taxi Subsidy Scheme covers up to 80% of transport costs for eligible users. He stated that the Government will continue working with stakeholders to ensure sufficient service supply for persons with disabilities. These efforts will be integrated into the next Enabling Masterplan through a newly-formed Steering Committee to chart a roadmap for an inclusive society till 2030.
Transcript
35 Ms Raeesah Khan asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider (i) working with transport operators to introduce more on-demand, metered services for users of motorised and high-back wheelchairs who currently have limited options for affordable and on-demand point-to-point transport and (ii) encouraging operators, through subsidies or otherwise, to acquire vehicles which are able to accommodate larger motorised and high-back wheelchairs.
Mr S Iswaran: Today, users of motorised and high-back wheelchairs can book on-demand point-to-point (P2P) services, such as SMRT’s London Cabs, ComfortDelGro’s MaxiCabs and minibuses, and Grab’s GrabAssistPlus. They may also book transport services from other private providers such as SilverFleet, Caregiver Asia and Caring Fleet.
The Government has schemes to defray transport costs for persons with disabilities (PWDs), including users of motorised and high-back wheelchairs who are facing financial difficulties. SG Enable’s Taxi Subsidy Scheme (TSS) covers up to 80% of PWDs’ transport costs for travelling to school, work or employment-related training.
The Government will continue to work with stakeholders, including transport operators, to ensure that there is sufficient supply of P2P services for motorised and high-back wheelchair users and other PWDs. The Ministry of Transport will work on this through the newly-formed Steering Committee for the next Enabling Masterplan, as part of a broader effort to chart the roadmap for an inclusive society till 2030.