Taxis incorporate pictograms to facilitate communication for people with disabilities

Common actions such as indicating where you want to go, how you want to pay or expressing how you feel can be especially complicated for people with intellectual disabilities or speech difficulties . To help these people, 
Zaragoza City Council and the taxi sector have signed an agreement to promote universal accessibility and equality for all people in this means of transport.

To help and facilitate taxi transport, a communication support sheet with pictograms has been developed to make communication possible for this group, such as those with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, aphasia, speech difficulties and tourists or migrants. This measure is in addition to the agreements in place for users with reduced mobility.

The small drawings, printed on both sides, are divided into four main areas: I want to go, I need, I sit down and I want . “I want to go” contains the most common destinations such as tourist destinations, leisure destinations or services such as the pharmacy, the hospital, the police or the courts. “I need” indicates basic actions to ask to speak more slowly, help with the seatbelt or help to get in, and “I sit down” refers to the user’s physical condition and key words such as please or thank you.

On the other hand, “ I want ” expresses wishes such as making a claim, knowing the time or changing money. The payment method is also illustrated so that the user can indicate it more easily. The small cardboard also has a keyboard with letters and numbers to express other wishes that are not drawn. These pictograms will reach 1,770 taxis .

“In a simple way, together with the good will of the taxis, we can achieve the greatest possible autonomy for these people ,” said the Minister of Social Policies, Marian Orós, who added that with this agreement “we continue to promote universal accessibility to guarantee the rights of all people.” Likewise, the president of the Provincial Association Auto-taxi Zaragoza, Miguel Ángel Perdiguero, has indicated that they will digitalize the pictograms. Along with these, the president of the Taxi Cooperative of Zaragoza, Sergio Artal, has also signed the agreement.

It will be a new system to support communication between taxi drivers and users , in order to transmit common messages. The system has been developed by the association Plena Inclusión and Arasaac , and tested by people with intellectual disabilities.