South Gyeongsang Province will launch a pilot program this year called "Deundeun Car Safe Care" to help disabled individuals who are bedridden or unable to sit up travel to medical facilities. The program will be implemented in Yangsan City and Geochang County.
Bedridden disabled individuals and those who have difficulty sitting up find it hard to use special transportation vehicles equipped with wheelchair boarding facilities or voucher taxis.
The provincial government announced Tuesday that it will subsidize part of the private ambulance fees up to twice a month (one-way) when these individuals visit medical facilities for treatment, transfer between medical facilities, or return home after treatment. Eligible disabled individuals who use a private ambulance within a 10-kilometer transport distance will only need to pay 10,000 won ($7) of the base fare of 75,000 won ($55). However, fees incurred when the transport distance exceeds 10 kilometers must be paid by the user.
The province plans to implement the pilot program within the first half of the year, taking into account the preparation status of the relevant cities and counties. It will analyze the operational results by the end of this year and review whether to expand the program to other regions.
"Through this pilot program, we expect to ease the burden of hospital transport for bedridden disabled individuals and improve their access to medical care," said Park Sung-jun, director general of the Traffic and Construction Bureau at South Gyeongsang Province. "Based on the pilot program's operational results, we will continue to refine policies to address blind spots in mobility rights for the transportation-vulnerable."
