Alfredo de Pablos, coordinator of Málaga Accesible: "Adapted taxis are the aristocracy and they don't want to serve us"

The adapted taxis in Málaga, which generally have between 7 and 9 seats, prefer to pick up groups going to the airport or to other municipalities, ... because these are more profitable fares, and ultimately, people with disabilities find themselves last in line. This harsh complaint was voiced today at the Málaga City Hall by the coordinator of Málaga Accesible, Alfredo de Pablos, during the presentation of a pilot program that aims to end this discrimination.

"There is no doubt that we are not being served, it is demonstrably proven. The taxis that serve people with disabilities do so voluntarily, no one forces them," explains De Pablos. "In fact, taxi drivers with adapted vehicles have privileges that their colleagues do not, they are the aristocracy of taxis," he claims. He assures that they have the right to work triple shifts, and they are not required to rest. "They are not doing us any favor, and the only thing we ask is that, to compensate, they serve us. The problem is that 70% do not want to serve us, and that is the reality."

The problem is exacerbated because, in reality, out of the 90 adapted vehicles, only 34 are optimally equipped with ramps and the right roof height for wheelchair access. Indeed, new licenses will go to vehicles with these accessibility guarantees, and they will receive a 100% subsidy on the cost of adaptation.

Application and Subsidies

To try to rectify this situation, the Mobility Department of Málaga, together with the Once Foundation and the Freenow app, have launched a pilot test, which will include, among other measures, a specific application for these users to request services in direct communication with the fleet of accessible taxis in the capital. According to Jesús Hernández-Galán, director of Accessibility and Innovation at the Once Foundation, it's about "monitoring whether the calls are really answered or not, and incentivizing the taxi drivers who do respond."

To this end, a new call for aid will be opened to directly subsidize the services that serve people with reduced mobility. In this plan, 17 professionals have benefited in the last year with almost 5,000 fares. The mayor, Francisco de la Torre, confirms: "What matters here is to know what the demands are, how they are met, and whether the stimulus created is sufficient so that the taxi driver never feels that they are losing."