@article{ref1,
title="An evaluation of the taxi service available to wheelchair users",
journal="Irish medical journal",
year="2007",
author="Gannon, S. and Walsh, D. and Cooney, M.",
volume="100",
number="6",
pages="498-500",
abstract="Adverse accounts of wheelchair user's experience of the taxi service have been reported. It is not clear whether these experiences are&quot;once off&quot;or reflect those of the user group. Wheelchair users living in cities throughout Ireland were surveyed. Of 306 questionnaires a response rate of 40.3% was achieved. Nearly 50% felt they had been refused a taxi because of their condition. Fifty one percent felt inadequately secured in a taxi with 35% rating driver's knowledge of handling as poor or very poor. Eight people (7%) had been injured as a result of unsafe handling by the taxi driver. Thirty percent said the modifications to the vehicles were inadequate and 45% said further modifications were needed. The results suggest that wheelchair users do not have access to a reliable, safe taxi service. The most important finding of the study was that that taxi driver's lack knowledge of how to handle and secure wheelchairs and people are being injured as a result. This study illustrates two things; the need to educate taxi drivers and the need to revisit the specifications for wheelchair accessible taxis to ensure modifications are adequate for users needs.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0332-3102",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}