On Wednesday, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Association for the Protection of Rights “Taxi 8”, the first taxi service for people with disabilities in Canton Sarajevo (CS), Bosnia and Herzegovina(BiH), officially started operating.
The Federal Ministry previously stressed that persons with disabilities, who use wheelchairs, will have a specialized taxi service available for the first time in post-war BiH.
Snjezana Padjen, Deputy President of the Association of Quadriplegics, Paraplegics, and Childhood Paralysis of the CS, is happy that after eight years, the right has been realized that people with disabilities can use these services.
“We can finally go out in the city, drink coffee, take a walk, as well as other citizens of our city,” said Padjen, who added that in the past they had a lot of problems when it comes to transportation because they had to manage with other ways.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH (FBiH) and Federal Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Vesko Drljaca stated that this was the realization of a project of specialized taxi vehicles for the needs of people with disabilities, which as such is the first in the CS.
“Namely, full freedom of movement is one of the basic freedoms and rights of all citizens and which allows us to express our potentials and give our contribution to the development of society. It is indisputable that all our citizens must be treated equally. It is not a question of social policy, but a question of basic human rights that society is obliged to guarantee and provide, ” told Drljaca.
Services will be provided at taxi prices, and Zijad Omerovic, president of the Association for the Protection of Rights “Taxi 8”, pointed out the importance of this project. He hopes that there will be people who will help make this mode of transport free for all people with disabilities.
