Part 12Disabled persons: transport
Chapter 1Taxis, etc.
I1I2165Passengers in wheelchairs
1
This section imposes duties on the driver of a designated taxi which has been hired—
a
by or for a disabled person who is in a wheelchair, or
b
by another person who wishes to be accompanied by a disabled person who is in a wheelchair.
2
This section also imposes duties on the driver of a designated private hire vehicle, if a person within paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) has indicated to the driver that the person wishes to travel in the vehicle.
3
For the purposes of this section—
a
a taxi or private hire vehicle is “designated” if it appears on a list maintained under section 167;
b
“the passenger” means the disabled person concerned.
4
The duties are—
a
to carry the passenger while in the wheelchair;
b
not to make any additional charge for doing so;
c
if the passenger chooses to sit in a passenger seat, to carry the wheelchair;
d
to take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the passenger is carried in safety and reasonable comfort;
e
to give the passenger such mobility assistance as is reasonably required.
5
Mobility assistance is assistance—
a
to enable the passenger to get into or out of the vehicle;
b
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;
c
to load the passenger's luggage into or out of the vehicle;
d
if the passenger does not wish to remain in the wheelchair, to load the wheelchair into or out of the vehicle.
6
This section does not require the driver—
a
unless the vehicle is of a description prescribed by the Secretary of State, to carry more than one person in a wheelchair, or more than one wheelchair, on any one journey;
b
to carry a person in circumstances in which it would otherwise be lawful for the driver to refuse to carry the person.
7
A driver of a designated taxi or designated private hire vehicle commits an offence by failing to comply with a duty imposed on the driver by this section.
8
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (7) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
9
It is a defence for a person charged with the offence to show that at the time of the alleged offence—
a
the vehicle conformed to the accessibility requirements which applied to it, but
b
it would not have been possible for the wheelchair to be carried safely in the vehicle.
10
In this section and sections 166 and 167 “private hire vehicle” means—
a
a vehicle licensed under section 48 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976;
b
a vehicle licensed under section 7 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998;
c
a vehicle licensed under an equivalent provision of a local enactment;
d
a private hire car licensed under section 10 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.