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SCMP Reporter

Wheelchair users  will be able to ride in specially designed taxis  from next month, with fares  from HK$70  a  trip.
Registered members can  book the service up to a month in advance through a 24-hour hotline,  which will be launched on  January 24, and will be told the exact fare. 
Charges would be based on journey times  and other operation costs,  Diamond Cab executive director Doris Leung Shuk-yi said.
'We hope the new service  will encourage disabled people to  go out more,'  said Leung, whose mother was wheelchair-bound.
Starting with a fleet of five wheelchair-accessible taxis, which have a ramp at the back, the service will be provided mainly in Kowloon.  
Each vehicle can accommodate  two wheelchair users  and their  carers.  The cabs are regulated by the taxi licensing authority, which stipulates  a maximum of five passengers. 
The taxis would provide a convenient alternative to other transport services for wheelchair users, such as the Rehab Bus, said Tsang Kin-ping, chairman of the Alliance for Patients' Mutual Help Organisations. 
 Customers of Diamond Cabs can make same-day bookings, while seats on the Rehab Bus have to be reserved about three months in advance. However, Leung  recommended early bookings for the taxis.  
A package  that includes  reservations at restaurants accommodating wheelchair users will be available. Customers will be picked up from their homes and taken to meet their  fellow diners at the restaurant.  
However, only two restaurants, in West Kowloon, were currently taking part in the scheme,  Leung said. 'We hope  ... to better prepare the city for the challenge of a rapidly ageing population,' she said.
A membership application form for the service is available online at www.diamondcab.com.hk



Taxis for wheelchair users set to hit the road