In Umea, the public transportation is done by city buses and taxis. In order to enhance accessibility for the disabled, private cars are customized and special services (färdtjänst) are provided by the municipality as a replacement of public transportation service. As a start of the research phase, I visited the municipality, the public transportation department and the bus garage. Then the färdtjänst and customized car...
Customized Cars:
When I had the interview with Anders, he had an old customized car which he was going to change with a newer one. Later he took me to the garage where his new car was being customized.
The private cars of disabled people are customized to answer special needs of their users such as safety, easy access and driving. The customizing includes special steering wheel as well as special locking system for wheelchairs, lowered floor and an entrance ramp for easy access.
Special Services (färdtjänst):
I took the färdtjänst (special service for disabled people) with Elisabeth. She was picked up in front of her house by this vehicle then taken to the library where she had a meeting.
The municipality offers it as a special service for those who have significant difficulties in using public transportation because of their disability. Over 4000 people in Umeå use special service. The service is given by Umeå Taxi and the customers who have färdtjänst card, pay 25% of taximeter amount which is around 20 SEK in minimum.
City Buses:
The only public transportation that is used in Umeå is city bus. Because of size of the city and its slow speed of growth, there are no other means of public transportation that are planned to be used in Umeå for the near future. The public transportation system in Umeå is designed by the municipality and the service is provided by a contracted bus company. The Public transportation department of the Municipality works as a supervisor of the regulations and it gets feedback from the bus company during the contracted period.
