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"Inclusion taxi must be included in the Social Code" - VSPV and SoVD fight for self-determined mobility
With a joint initiative, the Social Association of Germany (SoVD) and the Mobility Association VSPV are pushing to enshrine the Inclusion Taxi as a fixed component of Social Code IX (SGB IX). This is about far more than individual wheelchair rides. The move aims at a fundamental shift in perspective: Mobility should no longer be understood as a voluntary support service, but as a prerequisite for societal participation.
In a joint letter to Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas, SoVD and VSPV articulate their claim accordingly clearly:
"Mobility is not a voluntary social benefit, but a prerequisite for actual societal participation."
Inclusion - The claim and reality diverge widely
The argument of the two associations points to a contradiction in the existing system. While people with severe disabilities who have the corresponding entitlement already today have a claim to free transport in public local transport, in practice this entitlement often fails to meet the realities of everyday life – especially in rural areas.
There, in many places, there is a lack of barrier-free stops, tight headways, and truly usable connections. In the minister's letter, SoVD and VSPV describe the situation unusually graphically. A bus stop often consists of "a sign in the middle of nowhere." For people with mobility impairments, the statutory entitlement is thus often granted "formally," but remains practically ineffective.
The Federal Government Should Pay
The inclusion taxi should start right here. According to the associations' proposal, it should be anchored systematically in Social Code IX as a free-of-charge transport service – including clearly regulated financing by the federal government.
The VSPV and the SoVD explicitly argue not for a new special service. Rather, they see the taxi as a functional complement to an existing entitlement. “The Inclusion Taxi is not a special right and not a parallel regime,” says the letter. It is, rather, about making an already existing participation entitlement practically workable.
The association is especially clear on the financing issue. From the initiators' point of view, the cost-bearing responsibility must lie with the federal government.
“Where the federal government defines the entitlement, it must also bear the financing,” the associations write.
A shift to states or municipalities would undermine the principle of connexity. The financial expenditure is estimated by SoVD and VSPV at around 70 million euros per year. Considering the societal impacts, they consider this amount justifiable.
“You must not attach a price tag to mobility, and thus to the participation of disabled people,” says the letter.
Caution in Financing
The response from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs was courteous, but cautious. Minister Bärbel Bas explicitly acknowledges the concern.
"The actual possibility of moving about autonomously is a central prerequisite for social participation," she writes. In addition, she shares the assessment that "in particular in rural areas, public local transport is still expandable."
At the same time, however, the minister draws a clear line. The existing regulation for free transportation is part of a "differentiated system of responsibilities and services," for which the federal government and the states spend 523 million euros annually. The inclusion of taxi transport would be "not possible within this existing system and would establish a new independent social benefit."
Taxi is part of public transport
Exactly at this point the further debate is now ignited. The VSPV strongly opposes the legal classification. Managing Director Sascha Waltemate sees a fundamental error in the ministry's thinking:
"The BMAS would be committing a category error if it does not regard taxis as part of public transport and thereby does not take into account the settled case law of the Federal Constitutional Court."
From the association's perspective, there would be no new social benefit. Rather, “hundreds of local bureaucratic monsters would be replaced in enabling participation by a simple federal government measure.” Therefore Waltemate still sees “a significant need for discussion and information.”
Trotz der ablehnenden Passage bewertet der VSPV das Antwortschreiben insgesamt positiv. Die SoVD-Vorstandsvorsitzende Michaela Engelmeier erkennt darin sogar einen politischen Einstieg in die Debatte.
"Our concern has reached the minister directly and has not been passed through the ministry," she says.
Dass Bas persönlich geantwortet habe und die Bedeutung selbstbestimmter Mobilität ausdrücklich hervorhebe, wertet Engelmeier als Signal:
"That is exactly what we wanted to happen: the door is opened and we are starting a broad discussion!"
Thema ist kein „Sprint“, sondern ein „Langstreckenlauf“
Auch beim VSPV versteht man die Antwort offenbar weniger als Absage denn als Auftakt. Generalbevollmächtigter Patrick Meinhardt kündigt bereits die nächsten politischen Schritte an.
"The next step is now to bring the Federal Minister of Transport on board on the topic, to hold personal discussions in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, to intensify contact with the Members of Parliament, and to sensitize both the Transport Ministers' Conference and the Social Ministers' Conference to the inclusion taxi."
Meinhardt makes no secret that the association expects a long political process.
"From the outset we were aware that this would be a long-distance run and a slog through thick boards."
Therefore the debate is economically relevant for the taxi and rental car industry. A nationwide regulated financing could create investment security for accessible vehicles. This is precisely what SoVD and VSPV point to. Without reliable financing, neither nationwide expansion nor a stable service structure would be possible. In addition, the associations call for start-up funding for vehicle conversions as well as nationwide quality and digital standards.
Who is politically responsible?
The political discussion about the inclusion taxi thus seems to be just beginning. One thing is already clear: the question of how barrier-free mobility will be organized and paid for in the future is increasingly developing into a topic at the intersection of social, transport, and health policy.
Content automatically translated.
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