The 1999 Fiat Ducato from Germany is in mint condition: after all, German roads are much superior to Ukraine’s. The minivan’s design and interior have been modified to transport handicapped individuals. Ivan Kozub, the director of the municipal territorial assistance center for disabled, lonely, and socially disadvantaged persons, asks the recently hired young driver to demonstrate the workings of the wheelchair lift designed for easy access to the minivan’s spacious interior.
Right now it can accommodate five persons in wheelchairs and five companions. If necessary, the interior can be modified to accommodate three more passengers. For the majority of handicapped persons even a short trip to a nearby outpatient clinic or drug store may be a luxury they can ill afford. How many of them have seen their native city other than from their apartment window? In fact, the desire to see the city with its ancient castle, which seems banal to most healthy people, was the main reason behind the acquisition of this specialized minivan. Lutsk deputy mayor Sviatoslav KRAVCHUK says:
On one occasion members of the Dzherelo Nadiyi [Spring of Hope] center requested our assistance in taking their disabled relatives on a tour of the city. We ordered a taxi bus for them, which created a lot of inconveniences. The disabled individuals had to be carried down the stairs and into the bus, and then this procedure had to be repeated in reverse order. That was when Lutsk mayor Anton Kryvytsky proposed equipping a vehicle specially adapted to the needs of the disabled.
Is this the first vehicle of its kind in Ukraine?
As far as we know, yes. The territorial center director saw similar vehicles in Zamoscie, Poland.
What about other European countries?
In other European countries the entire infrastructure is adapted to the physically challenged. People in wheelchairs can easily board city transport, enter shops, buildings, and all sorts of institutions. Meanwhile, we consider it a major accomplishment having wheelchair access ramps in outpatient clinics.
Naturally, the primary route of the specialized vehicle, which was immediately dubbed the “Taxi for the Disabled,” will be to medical facilities. One thing is clear: the vehicle won’t be idling. Children have to be delivered to the territorial center, where parents bring them from all areas of the city. Five or eight seats per 300 disabled persons in Lutsk are not nearly enough. So, the dispatcher service will have to map out routes to satisfy the needs of the greatest number of people. People who need the taxi can call Myroslav Mazan at 2 82 21. The city paid UAH 62,000 for this vehicle, an amount that pales before the opportunities opened up for people whose world is limited to the view out of their window.
