The press conference of the Academic Inclusive Association titled “PUBLIC AND TAXI TRANSPORT FOR ALL” was held on Monday, February 27, 2023, at the Press Center of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS).
The conference focused on the inaccessibility of public transport and the lack of adapted taxi transport for all people who use wheelchairs, as well as the impact of public and taxi transport on the exclusion of persons with disabilities from public life in Belgrade.
The conference presented the achievements and challenges of the project “TAXI TRANSPORT FOR ALL!”, which addresses current conditions in public and taxi transport for persons with disabilities in Belgrade and proposes possible solutions to the discriminatory state of affairs. It also highlighted how the dignity of persons with disabilities is undermined due to limited access to transport for education, employment, work, and daily social activities—ultimately affecting their independence.
As part of the implementation of the “TAXI TRANSPORT FOR ALL!” project, 47 complaints were submitted to the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality against taxi associations for discrimination in providing taxi services to persons with disabilities.
The conference also addressed city and national policy implementations that directly or indirectly place persons with disabilities in a discriminatory position, such as the Decision on Taxi Transport by the Organizational Unit of the City Administration of Belgrade in charge of public transport, as well as certain articles of the Law on Passenger Transport in Road Traffic.
Speakers at the conference included:
– Milan Janković, Executive Director of the Academic Inclusive Association
– Slobodan Tomić, Deputy Ombudsman
– Relja Pantić, Head of the Department for Handling Complaints in the Public Sector at the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality
– Ivana Ćirković, Team Leader of the ACT Project
– Jovana Novaković, Moderator
