The Arrecife City Council has promoted, during this term, a line of aid to the taxi sector to increase the fleet for people with reduced mobility in the capital of Lanzarote.
The Municipal Government opened a call for subsidies last October aimed at the sector to ensure that license holders adapt or acquire vehicles for the transport of people in wheelchairs.
From the Department of Transport and Mobility, led by Councilor Mario González Altube, the granting of two subsidies with almost 25,000 euros was approved, which have allowed the holders of these vehicles to pay for the adaptation of their taxis with the placement of ramps.
The capital offers 5 adapted vehicles, two of which are newly released and have been presented today by the mayor Yonathan de León, the Councilor for Mobility and Transport, Mario González Altube, and the holders of both taxi licenses. The presentation took place this morning, early, in the PMR parking area that the City Council has created in front of the central building of the Town Hall.
The mayor has highlighted that "one of the objectives for this term is to advance in works, investments and better services for people with reduced mobility." The municipality, Yonathan de León detailed, "is immersed in many public works to remove barriers in the roads and public spaces of Arrecife, and make the city more accessible."
Along with these works, which are carried out from the Department of Public Works, work is being done on providing accessible public facilities, such as the bathrooms in the El Reducto area, which has also premiered toilets for ostomized people, or the pedestrianization of the section next to El Reducto beach.
Yonathan de León has reiterated his public commitment to citizens with disabilities or reduced mobility who commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3. "Having works and investments underway to turn Arrecife into a city without barriers and more accessible is a reflection of this commitment," emphasized the first capital mayor.
More adapted taxis and increase in PMR places
Mario González Altube has explained that "from the Department of Mobility and Transport, this line of subsidies will continue to be promoted to encourage license holders to adapt more vehicles." During the next year, the Arrecife City Council, the councilor remarked, "plans to provide two new adapted taxis, making the capital offer a service with seven accessible units."
The Department has processed this call for aid to the taxi sector during 2024 to encourage the adaptation or acquisition of vehicles for people with disabilities or who require wheelchairs for their travel. Subsidies that the City Council will continue to convene during the next fiscal year of 2025, which are already contemplated in the draft budget prepared by the Budget Management Unit, attached to the Mayor's Office.
The Mobility Area has increased the parking areas for PMR vehicles during 2024. These works have been carried out in parallel to the Municipal Resurfacing Plan and the new road signs.
Improvements to the taxi service
The Municipal Government is working on improving and supporting public transport in taxis and urban buses, so that professionals who have a vehicle license improve their services and thus improve the service to users in the city of Arrecife.
The mayor will take the update of taxi fares in Arrecife to the plenary session tomorrow, which will allow the sector to offer more shifts and hire more drivers. Arrecife, until now, is among the 8400 municipalities in Spain with the lowest fares, when the high cost increases in recent times are notorious.