I am a wheelchair user and my grandparents also require some form of mobility assistance.

Hence, I was delighted to hear the news last year that ComfortDelGro subsidiary ComfortDelGro MedCare was launching a medical transport service, and that Grab was putting on trial GrabAssist Plus with a fleet of wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

However, I was disappointed to learn that the services were mostly limited to hospital destinations, and their per-trip cost was beyond what I could afford on my own.

While I applaud the move towards inclusive transport in Singapore, more can be done.

Wheelchair users do not leave home just to go to the hospital.

They also go out to shop for groceries, run errands, visit relatives and meet friends.

In the United States, ride-hailing firms Lyft and Uber offer wheelchair-accessible vehicle rides to any destination.

Uber charges a price that is comparable to its basic ride option.

This makes the rides affordable for most, unlike in Singapore, where the market rate for wheelchair-accessible transport is about $60 per trip and $120 for a round trip.

As Singapore's population ages, more people will require mobility assistance and need wheelchair-accessible vehicles to ferry them to and from their appointments, both medical and non-medical.

For transport providers, this ought not to be merely considered as corporate social responsibility, but an investment opportunity.

Including people with disabilities in society requires a whole-of-society approach.

Thus, I call upon Grab and Gojek to consider launching wheelchair-accessible vehicle services with no destination restrictions.

The Ministry of Transport could help them offset a portion of the cost to make it commercially viable.

As transport remains a basic necessity for seniors and others with mobility issues, this would help build an inclusive society for them.

Shalom Lim Ern Rong