Persons with disabilities who are issued Certificate of Persons with Physical Disability or Certificate of Persons with Intellectual Disability are entitled to receive a 10 percent discount off their taxi fares by showing the certificate. This is only applicable to taxies which are members of the Taxi Association.
Aiming to support persons with severe physical disabilities to receive regular outpatient treatments, Akita City subsidizes a portion of taxi fare in cooperation with related companies such as the Akita municipal branch of the Akita Prefectural Taxi Association.
For persons with internal organ disabilitiess who have a grade 1 certificate or persons with physical disabilities in lower limb, torso or sight who hold a grade 1 to 3 certificate, the Division of Welfare for Persons with Disabilities provides a subsidy in the form of a 580 yen coupon per taxi ride, maximum 4 coupons a month or 48 coupons per year. Persons with kidney function impairments holding a grade 1 certificate who use a taxi for outpatient dialysis treatments are issued 16 coupons a month or 192 coupons per year since the fiscal year 2004.
There are about 5,700 persons with disabilities who are eligible to receive this coupon. The number of recipients is approximately 2,700 persons (47.4 %).
2. Subsidies for Bus Fare
Persons with disabilities who are issued Certificate of Persons with Disability or Certificate of Persons with Intellectual Disability are entitled to receive a 50 percent discount off their bus fares by showing the certificate.
Aiming to promote social participation of persons with disabilities and to enlarge their scope of social activities, Akita City issues a special welfare bus pass, with which the bus fare is completely subsidized and persons with disabilities are charged no fare.
There are about 14,500 people who are eligible for this subsidy. They have to have the certificate and live at home. The number of recipients of this bus pass is approximately 5,000 persons (34.5%). The project cost is approximately 80,000,000 yen.
(Note : All personal assistants had been also entitled to receive discounts until the fiscal year 2003. As of the fiscal year 2004, conditions were set for their discounts)
Contents of the Subsidy
| Persons with a grade 1 Certificate of Persons with Physical Disability, or with a category “A” Certificate of Persons
with Intellectual Disability |
Children under 12 years of age with a grade 2 Certificate of Persons with Physical Disability, or with a category “B” Certificate of Persons with
Intellectual Disability |
Children over 12 years of age with a grade 2 Certificate of Persons with Physical Disability or a category “B” Certificate of Persons with
Intellectual Disability |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible person for
the discounts |
Person with disabilities and personal assistant |
Person with disabilities and personal assistant |
Person with disabilities |
| Akita Central Transportation |
Free of charge within Akita City *1 (50% discount for a personal assistant). 50% discount for limousine buss, express bus, bus ride outside the city. *2 |
||
| Other bus companies |
50% discount.*2 (When a person with a grade 1 certificate travels with a personal assistant, a discount coupon issued by the Welfare Office is required. This is applicable for regular bus routes within Akita prefecture). |
*1 The special welfare bus pass must be shown to a driver.
*2 The certificate must be shown to a driver.
* An application must be made to receive discounts for a personal assistant. * As a principle, the special welfare bus pass cannot be reissued.
* Subsidies are for persons with disabilities who are able to use a bus and also live at home.
3 “Recycle Plaza” – Support for Work Environment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
Akita City aims to promote a stable employment of persons with intellectual disabilities through work training. Since 1999 each year three persons with intellectual disabilities are employed as trainees by Akita City General Promotion public corporation (former Akita City Environment Conservation public corporation) for maximum 3 years to work at Akita City’s Recycle Plaza.
The objectives of employing the trainees are as follows. By engaging in work such as sorting empty bottles for a certain period of time, persons with intellectual disabilities are expected to gain confidence about their ability to work. It is also aimed to ensure a place of work training towards employment in open labor market.
There is a major difference between a welfare workplace and a workplace in open labor market where the highest priority is given to the efficiency. However, the work training at Recycle Plaza is considered as in between process and functions as a bridge to employment in open labor market.
In Akita City, 2 instructors are placed in Recycle Plaza and they give instructions to 9 trainees.
The trainees are considered as part time workers and get paid 620 yen per hour. Working hours are from 8:45 to 15:45. Holidays are Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, from December 29 to January 3, and also a certain day at the end of every month. Paid holidays are given in accordance with the Labor Standards Law and also social insurance is assured.
The application requirements for trainees are as follows. Applicants should be a person with intellectual disabilities, be under 34 years of age, live at home, be self-reliant in daily living activities, be capable of carrying out works such as sorting empty bottles, and be able to commute regularly on their own by bus.
In order to support finding a job after the training, each year Akita City holds Support Conference for trainees who are about to finish their training course. The conference is also attended by their parents, a person in charge of career guidance in their school, staff from Public Employment Security Office (PESO) and also from the Vocational Center for Persons with Disabilities. This conference provides an opportunity to understand employment situation and to consider what steps to be taken next. In addition to this Support Conference, case meetings can be also held with their parents and related personnel.
The program is now in its eighth year. Out of the 25 trainees who were accepted to the program, 11 trainees have completed the course, 5 trainees have dropped out, and 9 trainees who joined between the fiscal year 2004 and 2006 are still in the middle of their training. Among 11 trainees who completed the program, 5 trainees are employed mostly in a bakery.
