Accessibility for wheelchair users

Section 165 and Section 167 of the Equality Act 2010 came into force on April 6, 2017 and aims to prevent discrimination against wheelchair users by private hire drivers. 

Section 167 of the Act gives us the power to make a list of wheelchair accessible vehicles so that wheelchair users are made aware of the accessibility of private hire vehicles within South Derbyshire. 

Drivers of private hire vehicles designated 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 under Section 165 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:

• Enabling the passenger to get into or out of the vehicle
• Enabling the passenger to get into and out of the vehicle while in the wheelchair (if this is there wish)
• Loading the passenger’s luggage into or out of the vehicle
• Loading the wheelchair into or out of the vehicle if the passenger does not wish to remain in the wheelchair

It is an offence for a driver of a wheelchair accessible vehicle not to comply with the above duties. Any failure to comply with these duties will be treated seriously and may result in prosecution and/or referral to the Licensing and Appeals Sub-Committee for consideration of their private hire driver’s licence. 

Section 166 allows the Licensing Authority to exempt drivers from the duties to assist passengers in wheelchairs if they are satisfied that it is appropriate to do so on medical grounds or because the driver's physical condition makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for him or her to comply with the duties.

Any driver of a private hire vehicle on the designated list may submit a request for an exemption from the Section 165 duties by completing the application form ^{(pdf, 94kb)}. Medical evidence will be required in support of the application.

The current list of wheelchair accessible vehicles that we licence is detailed below:

Registration Number	Make	Model	Operator
EX11 GTZ	Citroen	Dispatch	iCars
SF61 HHT	Peugeot	Horizon	Alpha 25 Cars/iCars Limited
SD09 ZHT	Renault	Traffic	Alpha 25 Cars
KU10 AHE	Peugeot	Expert	Alpha 25 Cars
YR58 XXL	Fiat	Scudo	Alpha 25 Cars
YY57 DPO	Fiat	Doblo	Swad Cars
SP61 BFU	Peugeot	Expert	Acorn Cars / Safe Cars
L10 LKL	Ford	Transit	Keith's Private Hire
YJ13 ERZ	Vauxhall	Vivaro	Safe Cars / Swad Cars / Acorn Cars

If you are a member of the public wishing to make a complaint under the Equality Act 2010, you can submit a complaint or contact us.