Hail To The Wheelchair-accessible Cabs
Sun Herald
Sunday August 13, 2006
THE finishing touches are being added to a luxury wheelchair-accessible taxi fleet to service Sydney.
At least 20 Lime Taxis, backed by Macquarie Bank, are set to hit the road next month.They will be the first of a fleet of 240 cabs expected to be operating by September next year - almost double the current number of wheelchair-accessible taxis in Sydney.Lime Taxis chief executive officer Stephen Albin said the business aimed to provide a reliable and luxurious service to people with disabilities.The new service is led by Macquarie Bank executive Bill Moss, who has muscular dystrophy."Lime is all about dignity in transport," Mr Albin said."We've designed luxury vehicles for everyone in the community. If you're in a wheelchair, you have priority."The fleet will be made up of Mercedes-Benz Vito vans that are suitable for all wheelchair types. They have leather seats and GPS navigation systems.Mr Albin said that during discussions with peak disability groups it became clear that reliability of taxi services was the key issue."If you're in a wheelchair you can wait between 20 minutes and an hour and a half," Mr Albin said."We're providing reliability and dignified luxurious transport."Three taxis were being tested this month to ensure the booking system was working properly."We believe once we get to 100 vans, we'll be very reliable," Mr Albin said.A Lime Taxi will cost the same as conventional cabs.Mr Albin said the company had received about 1500 inquiries from people wanting to be drivers.One of the first drivers on board, Elias Ajaka, is excited about the venture."I think Lime Taxis is going to create a revolution in the taxi industry," said Mr Ajaka, who has been a cabbie since 1980.The fleet was to be rolled out in June but testing new technology in the vehicles delayed the launch.
© 2006 Sun Herald