Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Rabaiotti: "An important initiative, which helped offset the red zone limitations"

Milan, 28 April 2021 – After around 40 thousand calls to 02 02 02, which is estimated to reach 45 thousand by the end of the week, and almost as many trips made in two months, the free solidarity taxi transport service, promoted by the Guido Venosta Foundation, which had made resources available for 1 million euros, until exhausted. Next Friday, therefore, the service will end, and it is already no longer possible to book a ride beyond April 30th.

85% of the people who used the service which started in early March are represented by people over 65 and around 14% by people with disabilities. Followed by the other categories of authorized citizens, from those with socio-economic difficulties to minors in communities who need to be transferred, to volunteers active in the Milan helps network. The greatest peaks in calls to the Municipality's contact center were recorded in the weeks just passed , with 1700 daily calls in the last one alone.

"We worked with the Guido Venosta Foundation, whom we thank for their generosity, and with the support of taxi drivers to activate a service dedicated to people who, in this phase in which the city has slowed down, needed free transport - declares the councilor for Social and housing policies Gabriele Rabaiotti - It was an important project thanks to which we helped offset the "red zone" limitations. We hope that it will now be easier to deal with the current phase and those to come having touched the most fragile population, we hope it can go downhill."