Transport Accessiblity
You would think that all of the taxis in operation in this country would be wheelchair accessible but this is not the case. The U.K. government is intent on people with disabilities having the same level of access to public transport as the rest of society but it takes time to bring the entire taxi fleet up to the required standard. The taxi industry forms a large part of the transport network for disabled people. The Department for Transport in the U.K. (DFT) states that disabled people use taxis in general sixty seven percent more than the rest of the public.
To make this lifeline more accessible future trains, buses and taxis will need to be designed and built with wheelchair accessibility in mind. It will take time for the infrastructure to be updated throughout the country but they are moving in the right direction.
There are already taxis built with full wheelchair accessibility in mind on the ranks in Scotland and parts of England. The Department of Trade in its February 09 consultation states some interesting facts about the new and used taxis industry as it stands. Out of the 85,000 licensed taxis in the U.K. 40,285 of these are classed as being accessible for wheelchairs. 64 out of 342 local licensing authorities in England and Wales now have a policy of only licensing wheelchair accessible taxis. Although this shows that the taxi industry in particular has a long way to go before it is thoroughly accessible it shows that effort is being made to address the problem.
The Disability Discrimination Act says that all new buses used for public transport should be accessible by wheelchairs. Earlier models are still able to operate even though they do not provide accessibility. At the moment there is no all encompassing legislation for small buses due to the wide range of things they are used for.
If you are disabled and are looking for help in finding out what transport options are available to you there are some helpful FAQ’s available. The Disabled Persons Transport Advice Committee at http://dptac.independent.gov.uk is one such site full of useful information.
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