558.In England and Wales, if a taxi or a private hire vehicle driver is refused a certificate exempting him or her from the requirements to assist disabled passengers in wheelchairs or to carry assistance dogs, this section gives a right of appeal to a magistrates’ court, within 28 days of being refused.
559.In Scotland, if a taxi or private hire vehicle driver is refused a certificate exempting him or her from the requirements to assist disabled passengers in wheelchairs, this section gives a right to appeal to the sheriff, within 28 days of being refused.
560.The owner of a taxi or private hire vehicle may appeal, to the magistrates’ court in England and Wales, or the sheriff in Scotland, against a licensing authority’s decision to include his or her vehicle on a designated list of wheelchair-accessible vehicles held by the licensing authority under section 167.
561.Section 172 is designed to replicate the provisions of section 38 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. However this section also reflects the extension of provisions in section 167 to drivers of designated taxis and private hire vehicles when not providing a local bus service (i.e. when providing a conventional service).
A taxi driver applies for a certificate exempting him from the requirement to assist disabled passengers in wheelchairs because he has a bad back. His application is refused by the licensing authority but the driver believes insufficient consideration was given to the medical information supporting his application, so he lodges an appeal within 28 days of the decision. The appeal is successful and the court directs the licensing authority to issue an exemption certificate to the driver.
A licensing authority lists a taxi or private hire vehicle as being accessible for passengers in wheelchairs, meaning the driver is required to assist disabled passengers in wheelchairs. The owner of the vehicle, who considers that it is not accessible, can appeal the decision to be listed.