The purpose of social transport is to ensure that children and adults with special needs have the opportunity to go to school and work and to use public services.

The right to use the social transport service is for a person with special needs who, due to functional impairment, uses mobility aids or needs assistance when moving and using a means of transport, and who cannot use a public transport service or a private car.

The social transport service is provided by the social welfare department of the city district of residence, where a social worker carries out a comprehensive assessment of the need for aid, on the basis of which a person can use either a regular transport, occasional transport or taxi service.

Depending on their needs, people can use:

• regular service;
• occasional service; or
• taxi service. The user of a regular or an occasional service will register every ride with an electronic public transport pass or a taxi pass in the case of taxi service.

Regular service

A vehicle adapted for the transportation of people with disabilities passes through Tallinn’s administrative territory on a predetermined route at certain times. The service is meant for regular rides (e.g. to go to work, a care facility, school or dialysis treatment sessions). Tallinn pays for the regular service; it is free for users.

Who is this service for? For Tallinn residents who have a profound or severe physical disability, visual impairment or a mental disorder and are at least three years old.

How much? One person can use the regular service up to twice per day. If the service user needs a ride to a care facility besides work or school, they can use it up to four times per day.

How? The regular service user registers every ride with an electronic public transport pass.

Occasional service

The occasional service is meant for one-time rides to health or care facilities or for using public services. The occasional service is provided both in the city’s administrative territory as well as to and from other locations in Estonia. The service incurs a partial fee for the user.

Who is this service for? For Tallinn residents who have a profound or severe physical disability, visual impairment or a mental disorder and are at least three years old.

How much? Within Tallinn:

• up to 12 free rides per user
• up to four partially paid (2 euros per ride) rides per user in a calendar month
• unlimited rides for a fee in a calendar year

Outside of Tallinn:

• up to two partially paid rides (13 euros per ride) per user in a calendar month
• unlimited rides for a fee in a calendar year

Taxi service

The taxi service is provided for personal rides within the administrative territory of Tallinn and up to 30 km outside Tallinn and back.

A person has the right to use the taxi service if:

• their disability has been established by the Social Insurance Board;
• their disability prevents them from using public transport or a personal car;
• they are unable to use the regular or occasional transport service independently or with assistance due to complete loss of vision or a mobility impairment.

In order to be entitled to use the taxi service, a child must be at least three years old.

Price of the service: the service incurs a partial fee for the user.

The service is limited to €190 per user per calendar month. The required own contribution of the user is 25% of each payment for the service. Rides for the full price are unlimited.

According to the procurement contract between the City of Tallinn and Forus Takso, the price of the service for its users is:

• base fare €3.85 (the city pays an additional €8.70 for the use of custom vehicles);
• kilometre rate of €0.89 during the day and €0.99 at night.

As an additional service, Forus Takso offers customers with pushchairs or wheelchairs assistance in moving down the stairs from the second floor or higher. The price of such assistance is €6.71 regardless of the number of floors, and is fully paid by the user of the service. Assistance from the first floor to the vehicle is included in the service fee.

Registering a ride with the social transport services

The right to use the regular and occasional transport service is entered on an electronic card (Tallinn and Harju County Public Transport Cards, student cards) which the user registers on each ride.

The right and limit of use of the taxi service is linked to the service recipient’s personal identification code by the service provider, and the recipient can use their ID card to prove their right to the service.

People in need of supervision must be accompanied when using the taxi service.