Disabled people in wheelchair may now book special seats on intercity trains online. The online booking option is available owing to integration of the Russian Railways system and the Federal Register of Disabled Persons operated by the Pension Fund. The register gives constant access to information about disabled persons to the transport company and makes it unnecessary to confirm disability with documents.
The booking of train tickets is not the only area where the Federal Register of Disabled Persons improves public service. Nowadays, the register is used by all government agencies serving disabled people. Employment centers access the Federal Register of Disabled Persons in case of professional rehabilitation of disabled persons or their employment. Since July 2020, the Federal Register of Disabled Persons has also been used as a national database in free parking of disabled persons’ vehicles.
The use of information from the register began in August 2017 when the Pension Fund launched a pilot project for the assignment of pensions and monthly benefits to disabled persons based on information from the Federal Register of Disabled Persons. As a result, all disability pensions and certain benefits are assigned to disabled persons exclusively on the basis of information from the register, without applications being filed by disabled persons themselves.