In April 2023, Ukrainian online car calling service Uklon, with the support of Mastercard and MacPaw, has launched the «Inclusive» class. From now on, passengers using a wheelchair can move freely in specially equipped cars. The new class of cars is available in Kyiv and its suburbs within a radius of 20 km, and the company plans further geographic expansion.
The project has also garnered support from the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation and the «Business Without Barriers» community, which is united around the initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, and currently includes 22 companies. All revenue from trips in this class will be used to cover operational costs: driver salaries, fuel purchases, etc.
Currently, the organization is seeking new partners to finance the expansion of the vehicle fleet, their retrofitting, and to support operational activities. The project’s goal is to provide an opportunity for free movement to people with musculoskeletal system disorders or other disabilities.
The «Inclusive» car class is equipped with hydraulic or mechanical lifts, ramps, special safety belts, and wheelchair securing mechanisms. To order a wheelchair-accessible car, you need to enter the desired route and select the appropriate class in the Uklon app. All trips are carried out by professional drivers who have received training on communication and interaction with people with musculoskeletal disorders from Dostupno.UA, a Ukrainian NGO that advocates for equal opportunities for people with disabilities.
During the operation period, passengers of the «Inclusive» car class completed 3 360 trips and covered a distance of 41 530 kilometers.
- On average, 22 trips were made daily;
- 699 individuals have utilized the new class;
- The most popular destinations for users of the Inclusive class include hospitals, train stations, shopping centers, research institutes (such as the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, National Cancer Institute, Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics), and parks;
- The longest trip was from Kyiv to Zhytomyr (134.5 kilometers), lasting 321 minutes. Conversely, the shortest trip covered 0.5 kilometers;
- On average, each trip lasts approximately 33 minutes;
Contact for communication:
Oleksandr Slobodian
Fundraising & Partnership Manager
oleksandr.slobodian@uklon.com.ua
+38 097 514 62 93
More information on the website: https://uklon.com.ua/uklon-inklyuzyvnyj/
