It is a subsidy that, year after year, used to be deserted or with very few participants, but this year, at least, has reached a dozen taxi professionals. These are subsidies to promote the use of the adapted taxi, as well as to make the necessary changes in the vehicles so that they can offer this service in an accessible way to all passengers. Yesterday, the Governing Board of the Santa Cruz City Council resolved the two subsidy lines related to adapted taxis, of 45,000 euros each.
In the case of the subsidy for the promotion of the provision of the public transport service to people with reduced mobility, the aim is to promote the operation of the vehicles once they have been adapted. This means that the beneficiaries will have to prove the exercise of the activity in the specific period specified by the aid, and which is set from January 1, 2019, discounting the periods in which the activity has not been exercised, and everything to date of December 31, 2021. Thus, from the initial amount of 45,000 euros, in the end, slightly more than 39,000 have been distributed among six beneficiaries, at a rate of 7,500 euros for five of them, and 1,516.39 euros for the last one.
As for the second line of subsidy, the one aimed at collaborating in the adaptation of auto taxis vehicles for the provision of the service to people with reduced mobility, which is intended to help the beneficiaries with the expenses they have incurred to adapt their vehicles or will be made for adaptation. Also with a global amount of 45,000 euros and a maximum of 13,106 euros per unit of adapted vehicle, the investments made in the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 have been taken into account. beneficiaries have been three professionals, with the maximum of those 13,000 euros granted. Altogether, the available 90,000 euros are not reached.
As recognized by the Councilor for Public Services, Guillermo Díaz Guerra, on other occasions, the municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is currently far from reaching the objective set out in Royal Decree 1544/2007, of November 23, by the that regulates the basic conditions of accessibility and non-discrimination for the access and use of modes of transport for people with disabilities. In accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned regulations, municipalities must reach a percentage of licenses corresponding to adapted taxis of 5% in relation to the total number of licenses that exist. Therefore, “it is essential that these types of subsidies are granted,” said the mayor.
