People needing a wheelchair-accessible taxi in New York City will now find it easier to find one. Accessible Dispatch is a new service available by phone, Internet or mobile app.
Accessible Dispatch is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout Manhattan. Upon notification, a wheelchair-accessible taxi is dispatched to your location immediately. Advanced reservations are not required, but they are accepted.
A taxi may be booked by calling 311. You may also call in or text a request to 646-599-9999, book online at www.accessibledispatch.com/book, or use the mobile app, WOW Taxi (Wheels on Wheels).
Once the system receives your request, it locates the nearest available wheelchair-accessible taxi, all of which are equipped with GPS tracking. The request is sent to the taxi’s data terminal for the driver to accept the request and proceed to the location. If the closest driver does not accept the request within two minutes, the request automatically switches to the next-closest driver until an available cab is found.
The fare is the same as for any other taxi in New York City. Accessible Dispatch pays the driver for the travel time to the pick-up location. Drivers are trained in ADA requirements, customer service etiquette, and safety protocols for boarding and de-boarding with wheelchairs, scooters, and service animals.
Accessible Dispatch is a service operated by Metro Taxi, a Connecticut taxi company that brought the first wheelchair-accessible cabs to that state.
For more information about our special needs legal services, visit www.specialneedsnewyork.com.
