Transport by taxi

As regards trips to a healthcare provider, the reimbursement you can get for the travel costs is determined on the basis of the lowest-cost means of transport. The lowest-cost means of transport is usually public transport, such as train or bus. If you cannot use public transport for health reasons or if public transport is not available for the whole trip or for part of the trip, you can use a taxi.

Each region has two service providers from which customers can book taxi rides reimbursed by Kela. You can choose which of them to contact to book a taxi. If you book a taxi in some other way, Kela cannot reimburse you for the trip. As an exception, if you are in the Åland Islands, contact the operator directly to book a taxi. 

How to book a Kela taxi

1. Call your regional dispatch centre by 2 pm the previous day.

   • Please note that you cannot book a taxi for the same trip from both regional service providers at the same time.
   • You can book the trips that you know you will make in the next 14 days all at the same time. The dispatcher will tell you when the taxi will pick you up. You can choose to receive a text message when a taxi has accepted your booking. The text message will also include the driver’s phone number. Your taxi should arrive within 15 minutes of the agreed pick-up time. 
   • You should call the dispatch centre also if you need a taxi unexpectedly or forgot to book a taxi on the preceding day. In such situations, the trip to the healthcare provider must start at the latest within 2 hours of booking the taxi. In Lapland, the trip to the healthcare provider must start at the latest within 3 hours of booking the taxi. The return trip from the healthcare provider must be made at the latest within one hour of booking the taxi. 
2. If the taxi does not arrive at the agreed time, call the same dispatch centre again.
3. If the details of your trip change or you wish to cancel a transportation request, call the dispatch centre immediately. You can be charged the price for a trip that has not been cancelled.
4. Present your Kela card or ID to the driver before the trip begins. That way you will get reimbursed straight away and will only have to pay a copayment of up to EUR 25. You cannot claim reimbursement afterwards for the taxi ride.

Information you should provide when calling the dispatch centre

When you book a taxi, you will be asked for the following information:

• reason for using a taxi (tell the dispatcher if you cannot use public transport for health reasons (certificate SV 67) or if public transport is not available). Plan the trip with the help of the route planner (kelareitit.digitransit.fi).
• name and personal identity code
• your pick-up address
• the destination
• latest possible time of arrival at the place of treatment
• any person accompanying you
• the phone number where you can be reached
• any assistive devices you use and whether you need to stop for instance at the pharmacy on the return trip.

Also mention if you have a payment voucher or service voucher from the wellbeing services county for private healthcare services or a rehabilitation decision from Kela.

Regional dispatch numbers

You can look up a regional dispatch number for your municipality of residence or search by region.

Look up a regional dispatch number for your municipality of residence

Calls to your regional dispatch number are free of charge.

Calls to the dispatch centre are recorded for quality assurance. Kela may sometimes check a transport request afterwards. The information you provide over the phone will not be used for any other purpose than as required to arrange the trip and to process your reimbursement. Kela is the data controller within the meaning of the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

The current service providers will continue until the end of 2026.

Who is entitled to a familiar taxi driver?

Using a familiar taxi driver means that the customer always has the same taxi driver and the customer can agree on the trips with the driver.

Children under 16 years of age who attend treatment or rehabilitation regularly and travel alone have the right to use the services of a familiar taxi driver.

In certain specific situations, also seriously ill children who receive treatment in a central or university hospital may have the right to use the services of a familiar driver, regardless of whether they are accompanied by a parent or other person.

The right to a familiar taxi driver can, on Kela’s discretion, be granted to

• a customer who travels unaccompanied and who for health reasons can only travel with a driver who knows what kind of special assistance the customer needs during the trip. 
• a customer with impaired mobility which requires the right kind of assistance, and where the wrong kind of assistance can cause serious harm.

Sami-speaking customers in the Sami homeland (Enontekiö, Inari, Utsjoki and the reindeer owners’ association of Lapland in Sodankylä) have separate instructions for how to order a taxi: 

• instructions in Northern Sami
• instructions in Inari Sami
• instructions in Skolt Sami

How to check your right to a familiar taxi driver

1. Call Kela’s customer service number at 020 634 2650.
2. When calling, tell us what kind of special assistance, guidance or supervision you need during the ride due to your state of health and whether you always have someone accompanying you. Also tell us why you cannot travel in any other way than with a familiar taxi driver.
3. File a certificate on the right to use a taxi on a continuous basis (form SV 67) with Kela. Kela cannot verify your right to use the services of a familiar driver until you have provided the certificate.

   • If the customer is a child under 16 years of age who travels unaccompanied and who has regular healthcare or rehabilitation visits, no certificate is necessary. However, contact Kela so that the information on the right to a familiar taxi driver can be forwarded to the dispatch centre. 

We will look at your situation and tell you whether you have the right to use the services of a familiar taxi driver. You will get a message about this in the OmaKela e-service, if you have given Kela permission to send you messages this way. Otherwise you will be notified by mail. We will also notify the dispatch centre for Kela taxis about your right to a familiar taxi driver.

How to book a familiar taxi driver

Call the regional dispatch number to book a taxi until you get information from Kela on your possible right to a familiar taxi driver. If you are granted the right to a familiar taxi driver, contact the dispatch centre in your region in the manner stated on their website to get a familiar taxi driver. As regards taxi rides that are reimbursed by Kela, the driver must belong to one of the service providers with whom Kela has made an agreement on taxi rides that Kela reimburses.

Book the trip directly from the taxi entrepreneur or the taxi driver when you have the information about your familiar taxi driver. Please note that that even if you have the right to a familiar taxi driver, you may have to share the ride with other customers travelling in the same direction, since ride-sharing is used.

Ride-sharing is not used with unaccompanied children under 16 unless their guardian expressly allows it.

How to book a taxi if you have a hearing or speech impairment

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can book taxi rides reimbursed by Kela by text message.

Each region has two service providers that have a contract with Kela. You can choose which of them to contact to book a taxi.

1. First call either one of the dispatch centres in your region and provide the following information:

   • your name
   • your personal identity code
   • your telephone number
   • your home address.
2. After that, book the trip with a text message to either one of the dispatch centres in your region. In the following you find the regional numbers for the text message service. Provide the following information in the text message:

   • your name
   • your telephone number
   • your pick-up address
   • the destination
   • the time by which you need to reach your destination
   • any assistive devices you use, such as guide dog or wheelchair
   • any person accompanying you.

You can also ask that more detailed information about your pick-up is added to your customer data (for instance pick-up indoors or need of a person accompanying you to the relevant ward).