Abu Dhabi: The ride-hailing app, Careem, has introduced special ‘Assist’ cars in Abu Dhabi to cater to people of determination, it was announced.
The new car type ‘Assist’ was launched in partnership with Inclusion Services, a Swedish provider of special-needs transportation.
The car is especially equipped with equipment to transport people with physical disabilities including captains trained on how to support this sector of the community
Careem said the captains are carefully selected based on their temperament and empathetic nature and then go on to receive in-depth training on how to look after a passenger and ensure that they are safe and comfortable at all times.
On booking an Assist car, a passenger will be taken door to door to their end destination with wheelchairs on board or the capacity to take a passenger’s wheelchair on board. The vehicles are especially designed to lower to the ground and with ramps to allow easy boarding and exiting of wheelchairs.
“With thousands of people of determination living in Abu Dhabi, it is only right that we do our bit as a major provider of ground transportation, to cater for this segment of the community. Ride hailing apps are borne from the notion that technology can play a role in simplifying and improving people’s lives,” said Bassel Al Nahlaoui, managing director of Careem, Gulf.
He added that connecting someone with a ride nearby to get them to a destination when they want, hassle free, is something that everyone should have access to in today’s world.
“To play a role in providing people of determination with more freedom to get out and about to see their friends, go for lunch, head to the mall, all the things we take for granted, is a true privilege and something we hope to extend to every city we operate in,” he said.
Commenting on the partnership with Careem, Ingemar Fredricsson, CEO of Inclusion Services, said their partnership is not only a unique opportunity to help serve the Abu Dhabi community but also represents a much wider mission for them.
“We hope to be able to use this model or working with a ride-hailing app, to take our services across the wider Middle East and serve every city Careem operates in. It’s also a very positive day for the ride-hailing industry, to be broadening their service offering to the very people that need it more than anyone else. The freedom to get out and about in comfort and with respect and dignity is something everybody deserves.”
