Directives in affect as from January 1, 2009

The city council wants Antwerp to be an accessible town that is comfortable to live in.

That means that everyone, including people over 65 who are limited in their mobility and income,

should be able to move around the city in a comfortable way. That is why the city is providing

taxi cheques to persons aged 65 plus who are (temporary or permanently) limited in their

mobility.

The conditions

• You have to be registered in the municipal register of the city of Antwerp.
• You are over 65 years of age.
• You have to submit a medical certificate stating that you are a person aged 65 plus with limited mobility.
• This certificate has to be filled out, dated, signed and stamped by a doctor.
  The certificate should mention that you have a score of 2 or higher for the item “Transfer and removal” on

     the KATZ scale as described in the decree on nursing homes and service flats, or it should mention that you have

     undergone a medical procedure and you have been prescribed a rehabilitation period of at least 1 month, with a

     maximum period of 6 month which can possibly be extended to a maximum period of 12 months.

     For more information: About the Katz scale in home nursing (in Dutch).

• Your income is not more than twice the subsistence level. 

Where and how to buy taxi cheques

• In the district offices and city halls.  
• Bring one of the above mentioned certificates, your identity card and your most recent tax form (year X-1,

X being the year of your application, so income -2) for your personal income tax. You can also have someone else

buy the cheques for you. In that case, the person representing you must bring his or her own identity card, in

addition to a clear and dated letter of attorney bearing your signature.

Use and monitoring of the taxi cheques

• Make the necessary arrangements with a taxi company. The list of companies allowed to accept taxi cheques

is mentioned on the back of the cheque.

• Show your taxi cheques and your identity card to the taxi driver.
• The taxi driver will check whether the data on your identity card match the data on the taxi cheque(s).
• The taxi cheques may not have the same serial number.

Validity of the taxi cheques

• The cheques are valid during the year in which they where issued.
• The cheques can be used until December 31 of the year in which they were issued.
• Taxi companies who send an invoice to the customer afterwards, will notify the customer how many taxi cheques

  he or she should save for settling the account for the month of December.

Rules and limitations

• Each cheque has a unique number.
• You will pay half of the value of the taxi cheques.   
• You are entitled to a maximum of 8 cheques per month.
• If the taxi fare is higher than the value of the offered taxi cheques, you have to pay the difference.
• The taxi driver is not allowed to pay you the difference if the taxi fare is lower than the offered taxi cheques.
• You may only use the taxi cheques for your own travel, alone or with assistance.
• It is not allowed to exchange taxi cheques for cash or to use them for anything else than paying a taxi.
• Taxi cheques that you did not use cannot be traded for new cheques the next year.

Can taxi cheques for persons aged 65 plus with (temporary) limited mobility be accumulated with cheques for persons with a disability?

Taxi cheques for persons aged 65 plus with permanent or temporary limited mobility may not be accumulated with taxi cheques for persons with a disability. You can only apply for one type of taxi cheques.

 Taxi cheques can be reimbursed:

• if you are moving to a different municipality.
• in case of decease.
• if your medical condition no longer allows the use of taxi cheques. In that case, you have to prove this with a clearly written medical certificate, signed by your doctor. The certificate has to be submitted at the latest two months after the occurrence at your district office or town hall.
• Lost, damaged or stolen taxi cheques will not be replaced or reimbursed.

What are the consequences for a violation of these rules?

If you violate any of the above mentioned rules, you will be deprived of all the rights and privileges that are attached to the use of taxi cheques.