2 Ausgaben kostenlos für Sie
Fachmagazin taxi heute: Ihr Zugang zu exklusiven Inhalten rund um die Taxi- und Mietwagenbranche.
Aktueller Termin
Meist gelesen
VSPV continues to advocate for the Inclusion Taxi.
The Mobility Association VSPV does not let go of its core issue, the inclusion taxi. Even though the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs initially does not want to approve the incorporation of the so-called inclusion taxi into the Social Code, the association sees no reason to shelve the topic. On the contrary.
“A preliminary 'no' is the first step to a 'yes'. That’s politics. Now it’s about talking, talking, talking – and putting the commonalities and the aligned goals at the center,” says Patrick Meinhardt, the VSPV's General Representative and head of the Berlin office.
Together with VSPV Managing Director Sascha Waltemate and the chairwoman of the Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD), Michaela Engelmeier, he has been advocating for months to integrate the inclusion taxi more strongly into the social policy debate. The focus is on a question that goes far beyond the taxi trade: How can mobility for people with disabilities be achieved where barrier-free public transport options are lacking?
Mobility as a prerequisite for participation
In a personal conversation with Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas, Meinhardt linked to the previous correspondence between the ministry, SoVD and VSPV. In it, the minister explicitly acknowledges the need for action.
"You are raising an important issue. The actual ability to move about independently is a central prerequisite for social participation," Bas wrote in a letter to the SoVD and the VSPV.
At the same time, she notes that especially in rural regions the public local transport is still expandable in many areas—both in terms of connections and accessibility. The ministry also sees further need for improvements in the actual usability of existing mobility offerings for people with disabilities. For the VSPV, these are important signals.
"We jointly share the assessment that participation through mobility justice is central. We jointly share the conviction that significant improvements are still needed," says Meinhardt.
However, the views diverge on a crucial point.
Point of contention: social benefit
In the ministry, the view is that incorporating the inclusion taxi into the Social Code would entail the introduction of a new autonomous social benefit.
The VSPV disagrees with this assessment. In the association's view, it is not about creating a new entitlement to benefits, but about the consistent continuation of an already existing core idea: people with disabilities should actually be able to use mobility services.
"We do not share, however, the ministry's assessment that the integration of the Inclusion Taxi into the Social Code would establish a new, autonomous social benefit, but only the consequent result that the taxi is part of public transport," explains Meinhardt.
Thus, the discussion touches on a fundamental conflict that has accompanied the taxi industry for years. While taxis in many places take on tasks that are traditionally attributed to public transport – for example in rural regions or in transporting people with mobility impairments – this role, from the industry's perspective, has not always been reflected in the legal framework.
From Discussion to Strategy
The association therefore relies on political dialogue. In talks with Minister Bas, the VSPV proposed the idea of seating down with the Social Association of Germany to seek practical solutions at the table. According to the association, this proposal was met with a positive response in the ministry. It is not only about funding. Rather, the fundamental consideration is on the table: how mobility offers can be designed in the future so that people with disabilities can actually use them regardless of where they live.
Especially in rural regions, the barrier-free expansion of public transport encounters limits in many places. Buses do not run everywhere in a dense cadence, stations are not always fully accessible, and flexible transport options often remain the only practical solution. Exactly there, the VSPV sees the Inclusion Taxi as a building block of a broader mobility strategy.
Don't Get Lost Between the Ministries
That the topic concerns several ministries was also evident in a meeting between Sascha Waltemate and Patrick Meinhardt with Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Schnorr in the Federal Ministry of Transport. There, the association proposed establishing a strategy group. Representatives from the Social and Transport Ministries, state representatives, associations, and Bundestag factions should jointly discuss possible ways forward. For Meinhardt, one thing is especially important: to avoid jurisdictional debates.
"What we don't need is for the Social Ministry to say that the Transport Ministry is responsible, and vice versa. Just convene a joint meeting."
The proposal was immediately picked up by the ministry, the association reports. In parallel, the VSPV continues to seek talks with members of the German Bundestag. According to the association, discussions have already taken place with members of the Committee on Labor and Social Affairs, including its chairman Bernd Rützel.
A Topic With Political Significance
Whether the Inclusion Taxi will actually find its way into the Social Code remains open.
What is clear, however, is that the debate is no longer conducted solely within the taxi industry. It has reached social policy. This is probably also due to the fact that behind the term Inclusion Taxi lies a question that is far bigger than the future of a single mode of transport: How can societal participation be achieved when mobility has become a prerequisite for nearly all areas of daily life? The VSPV hopes that political consequences will emerge from this question.
Or, as Patrick Meinhardt optimistically puts it:
"Now the thread of dialogue simply needs to be extended."
Content automatically translated.
Taxi-Fahrzeuge (Pkw) , Taxi-Newsletter, Taxameter, Taxi-Fahrer , BZP – Deutscher Taxi- und Mietwagenverband , Straßenverkehrsordnung (StVO) , Krankenbeförderung , Weiterbildung , Taxi-Konzessionen , Verkehrspolitik , Mietwagenbranche , Taxi-Apps , Berufskraftfahrer-Qualifikations-Gesetz BKrFQG) , Taxizentralen , Personal, Gehälter, Arbeitsschutz , Wirtschaftsnachrichten , Werbung , Taxi-Folierung , Taxi-Umrüster , Straßenverkehr , Elektromobilität, Taxifuhrpark und -flottenmanagement , Taxi-Versicherungen , Hybrid, Diesel, Erdgas , Taxi-Magazin
