New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg has recently made incredibly offensive remarks directed at wheelchair users who want greater access to the City’s yellow taxi fleet.

Bloomberg stated that “it’s too dangerous” for wheelchair users to hail a cab in NYC and that most drivers would “pretend they didn’t see them”. He also said wheelchair users “sit too far from the driver to establish a dialogue” and therefore “they would not tip well”.

It’s time to call out the offensive remarks of Bloomberg by showing your support for a fully-accessible NYC taxi fleet. Sadly, only 231 of the City’s 13,000 taxis are accessible to wheelchair users.

The New York Daily News is taking an online poll regarding the desirability of accessible taxis.

Click Here To Take The Survey

United Spinal has advocated for accessible taxis in NYC for many years. But this fight reaches far beyond the City’s front lines. If NYC creates an equitable system of accessible public transportation then other cities both small and large will follow.

You need not be a City resident to join this cause as it affects our entire community. So please let your voice be heard by taking this important survey that only takes a few seconds to complete.

Some background reading:
http://www.spinalcord.org/push-for-cab-access-grows/

http://www.spinalcord.org/one-wheelchair-user%e2%80%99s-ordeal-in-hailing-an-accessible-nyc-taxi-2/

Let me ramble on a bit- Too dangerous! No, it’s child’s play compared to dodging NYC cabs on any Manhattan street but that’s not the issue is it? Either are the other lame excuses bloomberg is spewing on this issue. Being a very independent and self centered individual you would think that bloomberg would understand the desire of NYC wheelers to be independent. I guess not, and that has many people wondering what is really behind all of this. Is this a case of a misguided politician acting independently and to the detriment of a constituent population? Or is there more to this than meets the public eye?

Considering the argument and logic presented by bloomberg, one has to really wonder if it’s independent thinking gone berserk, or external influences gone haywire. In any case it won’t play well for NYC wheelers who want to hop a ride in a yellow.