Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection on Monday announced the Open Doors Organization has won the competitive bidding process to provide centralized wheelchair-accessible taxicab dispatch service to passengers across Chicago. The Open Doors Organization was selected from a group of five vendors through a competitive bidding process initiated in May 2015. The evaluation committee gave the company the highest score for its ability to connect passengers with wheelchair-accessible taxicabs with a smartphone app that will include key features such as estimated wait time and an estimated fare quote. The Open Taxis app is available to download from both the Apple App Store for IOS users and Google Play App Store for Android users.

Open Doors Organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Chicago that was founded in 2000 for the purpose of creating a society in which all persons with disabilities have the same consumer opportunities as everyone, whether it involves access to businesses or accessible transportation. All wheelchair-accessible taxicab drivers can be requested via the Open Taxis app or by calling #855-WAV-1010. The Open Doors Organization will operate in conjunction with the City of Chicago CHICABS program, which houses all approved universal taxi app providers. Learn more about the CHICABS program at www.chicabs.org.