Fardtjanst: Subsidized Transport for People With Disabilities

Färdtjänst is why some Swedes in wheelchairs ride a taxi for the price of a bus fare and bring a helper onto the metro for free. Here is how the system works, why a visitor can’t join it, and what you can book instead.

When you need this

You use a wheelchair or have limited mobility and are planning a trip to Sweden. A Swedish host, hotel or website mentions färdtjänst and you can’t tell whether it applies to you. You’re moving to Sweden with a disability and want to know when you can apply. Or you’re a Swedish permit holder about to visit another town.

What färdtjänst is and who runs it

Färdtjänst (literally “travel service”) is transport arranged specially for people with disabilities. In practice that means shared taxis, minibuses and wheelchair taxis that collect you at the door, with most of the cost paid by the public. The legal basis is a short framework law, Lag (1997:736) om färdtjänst.

The law makes each municipality responsible for good-quality färdtjänst for its own residents within the municipality, and to neighbouring municipalities where there are special reasons. Many municipalities have handed the job to the regional public transport authority. That is why the service has different faces around the country:

Because the law is a framework, each municipality or regional authority sets its own fees, trip quotas and booking rules. Fees must be reasonable and may not exceed the provider’s own costs.

Who qualifies

The test sits in one sentence of the statute. A permit shall be granted to people who, because of a disability that is not merely temporary, have substantial difficulty moving about on their own or travelling by public transport.

• Lasting disability: the law doesn’t set a number. Region Stockholm and 1177, the national health information service, apply “more than three months”.
• Difficulty with public transport, not just inconvenience: Region Stockholm lists what is not enough on its own, such as not being able to drive, not being able to carry your shopping or needing to get to care. A Västra Götaland municipality adds that a missing bus connection is no reason either.
• Children: an applicant under 18 is compared with children of the same age without a disability.
• Healthcare trips are excluded: transport that the public pays for some other reason, such as a sjukresa (publicly paid trip to healthcare), is outside the permit.

A permit can be time-limited or open-ended and can restrict mode of transport, area and number of trips. Trips that are essential to the holder may be capped in number only for exceptional reasons. Decisions can be appealed to the administrative court.

In Stockholm, applying starts with a doctor’s certificate no older than three months, sent to your municipality of registration. A municipal investigator meets you, Färdtjänsten decides, and the personal card arrives by post.

Can visitors use it?

No, and the reason is in the law rather than local policy. Applications are decided by the municipality where the applicant is folkbokförd, registered in the Swedish population register. Registration in turn requires that you can be expected to sleep in Sweden regularly for at least a year, and foreigners who need a residence permit or right of residence must hold it first (see the personnummer and population registration).

So a tourist, a short-stay exchange student or a business visitor has no route in, whatever their disability. A foreign disability card is not treated as a färdtjänst permit. An EU citizen who moves to Sweden for a year or more and is registered can apply like anyone else. A permit also ends if the holder moves to another municipality, so a new address means a new application.

Warning: Don’t plan a visit around färdtjänst. Without Swedish registration there is no permit, no card and no free companion on SL.

Companions

The law says that if you need a companion (ledsagare) during trips, the permit covers that person too. Region Stockholm confirms a permitted companion rides free in its färdtjänst vehicles. Someone without that status, a medresenär (co-traveller), can usually come along for a fee.

Region Stockholm’s card has a bonus: it gives free travel on SL and Waxholmsbolaget, the archipelago boats, and one person can travel with you at no cost. That benefit belongs to the card. SL states that only holders of a Region Stockholm färdtjänst card bring a companion free, so a visitor’s companion needs a normal ticket (see Stockholm public transport). Västtrafik has a similar reshjälpskort (travel-help card), again only for people entitled to färdtjänst.

Riksfärdtjänst and trips to other towns

Riksfärdtjänst (national färdtjänst) is a separate permit under Lag (1997:735). It pays the extra cost when a large and lasting disability means you can’t make a trip between Swedish municipalities at normal cost by public transport, or without a companion. The purpose must be leisure or another private matter, the trip must stay within Sweden, and no other public body may already be paying. You pay a fixed own fee and the municipality pays the rest.

The out-of-area tickets are called utomlänsbiljetter in Stockholm and RIAK tickets (resa i annan kommun) in other regions. They don’t cover the journey there. Stockholm asks for at least ten working days’ notice and warns it can take longer in summer and around Christmas, New Year and Easter. It also warns that suitable vehicles may be scarcer than you’re used to.

What visitors can book instead

Visitors don’t get färdtjänst, but the most useful parts of it have alternatives that don’t depend on Swedish registration:

• Trains: assistance is free; book it with the operator that sold your ticket at least 24 hours ahead.
• Flights: assistance is free under EU Regulation 1107/2006; book it through your airline, ideally when you book and at least 48 hours before departure.
• Stockholm’s metro and commuter rail: SL’s accessibility line, 020-120 20 22, is open around the clock for escort help (see wheelchair-accessible Stockholm).
• Wheelchair taxi in Stockholm: since March 2026 Cabonline’s app lets private customers choose a wheelchair-adapted vehicle and pay by card, Swish or Apple Pay. The company runs about 240 such vehicles in Stockholm.
• Wheelchair taxi at Arlanda: ask the taxi rank officer outside the terminal to order a suitable car.
• Elsewhere: phone a local taxi company well ahead and state your chair’s type and size (see taxis in Sweden).

One detail from Stockholm’s färdtjänst wheelchair taxis is worth knowing for any booking: you can stay in a manual wheelchair, but users of a power chair with a steering column must transfer to a seat. Ask the operator.

The full visitor picture, from parking cards to assistance dogs, is in traveling in Sweden with limited mobility.

What is changing

Nothing in the law yet. The färdtjänst act was last amended in 2019. On 12 February 2026 the government asked Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish Transport Agency, to map the criteria municipalities and regions use and how they differ, with a report due by 15 January 2027. It noted that the number of permits granted was just above 2019’s level in both 2023 and 2024.

Separately, a Swedish inquiry on the EU Disability Card reports on 15 October 2026. Nothing published says whether it will touch färdtjänst, which stays residence-based until the law changes.

Good to know: Some guides suggest otherwise, but no new färdtjänst law has been proposed. The 2026 step is a review, not a reform.

Practical information

FAQ

What is färdtjänst in Sweden?

Färdtjänst is publicly subsidized transport for people with a lasting disability who have substantial difficulty getting around on their own or using buses and trains. It usually means shared taxis or wheelchair taxis from door to door. Your municipality or regional transport authority grants the permit, and you pay a reduced trip fee set locally under Lag (1997:736).

Can tourists use färdtjänst in Sweden?

No. The permit is decided by the municipality where you are registered in the Swedish population register, and registration needs an expected stay of at least a year. A foreign disability card is not a substitute. Visitors use free rail and airport assistance, city accessibility services and wheelchair taxis booked and paid privately instead.

Who qualifies for färdtjänst?

Residents whose disability is not merely temporary and who have substantial difficulty moving about on their own or travelling by public transport. Region Stockholm and 1177 say the disability must last more than three months. Not being able to drive, carrying shopping or a missing bus line do not qualify on their own. Children are assessed against peers of the same age.

What is riksfärdtjänst?

Riksfärdtjänst is a separate permit for trips between Swedish municipalities when a large, lasting disability means you can’t travel at normal cost by public transport or without a companion. It covers leisure and private trips, not work or healthcare, and only within Sweden. You pay a fixed own fee by road distance and the municipality pays the rest.

Does a companion travel free with färdtjänst?

Yes, if the permit says you need one. The law extends the permit to a companion, and Region Stockholm confirms the ledsagare rides free. Someone without that status can usually come along for a fee. In Stockholm County the färdtjänst card also lets one person travel free with you on SL and Waxholmsbolaget.

Can I use my färdtjänst permit when visiting another Swedish town?

Partly. Your home municipality may grant riksfärdtjänst for the journey there. For local trips at the destination, many permits allow out-of-area tickets, called utomlänsbiljetter in Stockholm and RIAK tickets elsewhere, ordered in advance and valid only in the municipality you visit. Stockholm asks for at least ten working days’ notice.

How do I book a wheelchair taxi in Sweden without färdtjänst?

Book it privately and pay yourself. In Stockholm, Cabonline’s app has offered a wheelchair-vehicle option since March 2026, and the taxi rank officer at Arlanda can call one. Outside the big cities adapted vehicles are fewer, so phone a local taxi company well ahead and state your chair’s type and size.

Related guides

• Traveling in Sweden with limited mobility — the assistance visitors can actually book, mode by mode
• Wheelchair-accessible Stockholm — SL’s escort service, taxis and step-free attractions
• Taxis in Sweden — how fares work when you book and pay a ride yourself
• The personnummer explained — why population registration decides who gets färdtjänst
• Healthcare as a new resident — where sjukresor and patient fees fit once you live here

Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Lag 1997:736, Lag 1997:735, Förordning 1993:1148, Folkbokföringslag 1991:481), Regeringen, 1177, Region Stockholm Färdtjänsten, SL, Konsumentverket, Transportstyrelsen, Swedavia, Falköping and Alingsås municipalities and Cabonline — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.