Wheelchair taxis to give a push to Goa tourism
Enable Travel, an accessible holiday specialist to introduce ‘wheel chair taxi’ in Goa to enable physically challenged tourists to move around without any accessibility issues. The programme will be implemented in association with Ezy Mov, India’s fisrt point-to-point wheel chair taxi service. In the first phase, five such vehicles will be introduced in January 2019.
“Goa is one of the most popular travel destinations in India for both domestic and international tourists. However, due to lack of such facilities, people with mobility issues are unable to experience it. We have partnered with Ezy Mov, who are experienced to address the need to create an inclusive travel environment,” said Debolin Sen, Head, Enable Travel in a press briefing on Friday.
While talking about the initiative, Bennet D’cunha, Co-Founder and CEO of Ezy Mov, said their mission is to make India as the leading country for accessible tourism.
“Ezy Mov and Enable Travel are the first movers in the accessible transportation and travel space in our country. Hence, we share the common vision of providing end-to-end assistance to our customers, travelling from all over the world into India and Goa in particular. This service will also be available for the local population to meet their healthcare and social needs,” said Bennet D’cunha.
The service expected to start within 30 days with the initial five vehicles, in specific locations. There will be two-pricing models – rental services and catering to healthcare or social needs, where senior citizens also become stakeholders.
Enable Travel has started its operation in March 2017, powered by Cox & Kings. Since then it has hosted attractive curated holiday experiences for people living with disability and senior citizens. It has been working with various travel providers, hotels, transport companies and disability experts.
Frederika Menezes
“I am delighted. This will mean freedom and independence for a wheelchair user,” commented Frederika Menezes, Goan writer and artist.
Stakeholders of the Goan tourism industry have welcomed the initiative and it is expected that the move will boost the tourism sector in the long run.