What is the Total Mobility Scheme and How to Apply?
The Total Mobility scheme reduces the cost of taxi services for eligible people who have a permanent disability and cannot independently use regular public transport services, all or some of the time. The Scheme covers physical, sensory, neurological, psychological, mental/psychiatric, cognitive, and intellectual impairment.
You will need to get an assessment done, and each regional council sets its own criteria for the assessments.
What you can get if you are eligible:
👉 If you are eligible you will get an electronic card or vouchers that allow you to get a discount of up to a 75% on taxi rides, up to a maximum fare. The maximum fare is set by your regional council. You must use one of the approved taxi companies for the scheme.
👉 If you have a carer, you can get subsidised taxi travel for both of you when you travel together.
The scheme also provides:
* funding to scheme providers to help purchase and install wheelchair hoists
* payment to the owner of the wheelchair accessible vehicle for each Total Mobility scheme member who requires the use of a wheelchair hoist or ramp.
How to apply:
Contact your regional council to apply to be part of the Total Mobility Scheme. Each region in New Zealand has different rules, so you need to check with your local council and find out what their rules are.
Info credit: Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand: cab.org.nz
Image credit: New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.6% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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29.9% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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