New! Standard Taxi,
Accessible Taxi Available!

Here is a letter recently received by Email at AbilityMaine.
It is from
Terence J. Moakley
Director of Special Projects, United Spinal Association

United Spinal Association, a national disability rights organization that provides services to members with spinal cord injuries and disorders, recently announced its endorsement of the new Standard Taxi, www.standardtaxi.com, a low-volume purpose-built taxicab which has been engineered from the ground up specifically for taxi and paratransit service. The Standard Taxi is the first-ever U.S. built accessible sedan vehicle.

As Manager of United Spinal's “Taxis For All North America” project, I was with the designers and innovators of the Standard Taxi on September 18th in Seattle where this unique vehicle was unveiled to the 19th Annual Conference of the International Association of Transportation Regulators.

The Standard Taxi's recessed access ramp and its other Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant features will enable it to accommodate passengers of all ages and abilities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 32.5 million persons with severe disabilities and 2.7 million individuals who use wheeled mobility devices daily in our nation, so the availability of the Standard Taxi will provide an important new accessible transportation option to persons with disabilities.

United Spinal Association developed the Taxis For All ? North America project, http://www.taxisforallNA.org, to be an online resource tool which is geared to educate the public about the benefits of and the need for accessible taxi service, and to increase local advocacy for such service. If local advocacy is successful, people will realize that the Standard Taxi is the vehicle to buy. It is built to be a taxi and it is built to be durable and easy to maintain for taxi and paratransit service.

I encourage you to consider registering at www.taxisforallNA.org to receive periodic updates concerning successful taxi advocacy strategies, and to learn when a display model of the Standard Taxi will be at a location near you.

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