Wheelchair Accessible Taxis

The Equality Act 2010 imposes duties on the drivers of designated wheelchair accessible taxis and private hire vehicles to assist passengers who use wheelchairs.

Drivers of vehicles designated by us as being wheelchair accessible must comply with the requirements of Section 165 of the Equality Act 2010, unless they have been issued with an exemption certificate.

The duties are:

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

Mobility assistance is defined as:

• to enable the passenger to get into or out of the vehicle
• if the passenger wishes to remain in the wheelchair, to enable the passenger to get into and out of the vehicle while in the wheelchair
• to load the passenger's luggage into or out of the vehicle
• if the passenger does not wish to remain in the wheelchair, to load the wheelchair into or out of the vehicle.

It is an offence for a driver of a designated wheelchair accessible vehicle not to comply with the above requirements.

We can exempt drivers from the duties to assist passengers in wheelchairs if they are satisfied:

• that it's appropriate to do so, on medical grounds, or because
• the driver's physical condition makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for them to comply with these duties.

We regularly update and publish a , designated for the purposes of section 165 of the Act. To the best of our knowledge, the vehicles listed are capable of carrying those wheelchairs, which accord with the 'reference wheelchair' as defined in the .

You may also wish to view related Government and legislation websites: