Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

The Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 helps ensure disabled passengers aren't discriminated against when using a taxi or private hire vehicle.

In this section:

• Your rights as a passenger
• The Equality Act 2010
• List of wheelchair accessible vehicles

Your rights as a passenger

As a disabled passenger, you have various rights under the Equality Act 2010. These include:

• carriage whilst in your wheelchair
• drivers must not charge you extra fare for a journey
• carriage of your wheelchair, should you choose to sit in a passenger seat
• drivers must take steps to ensure that they carry you in safe and reasonable comfort
• drivers must provide reasonable levels of mobility-assistance for you
• drivers cannot refuse hires from wheelchair users
• drivers must accept the carriage of assistance dogs without any extra charge

The Equality Act 2010

Section 165 of the Equality Act 2010 imposes duties upon the drivers of designated vehicles when dealing with disabled passengers travelling in wheelchairs or a person who wishes to be accompanied by a disabled person in a wheelchair. Those duties are set out in Section 165(4) as follows:

• to carry to passenger whilst in the wheelchair;
• not to make any additional charge for doing so;
• if the person chooses to sit in a passenger seat, to carry the wheelchair;
• to take such steps as are reasonably necessary to ensure that the passenger is carried in safety and reasonable comfort; and
• to give the passenger such mobility assistance as is reasonably required.

Section 165(7) of the Act creates an offence where the driver of a designated taxi or private hire vehicle fails to comply with a duty imposed upon them under the section. This is punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding scale 3 on the standard scale (currently £1,000)

Section 166 of the Act makes provision for licensing authorities to issue exemptions to drivers where they are satisfied it is appropriate to do so:

• on medical grounds; or
• on the ground that the person's physical conditions makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for the person to comply with those duties.

A driver will only be exempt therefore if an exemption certificate has been issued and notice of exemption issued by the Council is exhibited on the vehicle in the prescribed manner. There are currently no drivers with exemptions.

In accordance with Section 167 of the Equality Act 2010, Fenland  District Council has produced and will maintain a list of licensed hackney carriage or private hire vehicles which are fully wheelchair accessible. This means that a passenger can travel in the vehicle whilst seated in their wheelchair. The list of those licensed vehicles which are currently fully wheelchair accessible is available below or in hard copy from the council offices and is designated for the purposes of Section 165 of the Act.

List of wheelchair accessible vehicles