Helping disabled passengers

Taxi and private hire drivers and operators have legal duties under the licensing law and the Equality Act 2010 to help passengers. This means they have to:

offer reasonable help with getting in and out of a vehicle
make sure you are safe
make sure a wheelchair is secured correctly.

Licensed drivers or operators

Guidance on drivers' legal duties can be found on our guide to helping disabled passengers page.

Customers

The Travel Access Complaints Service for Disabled People (DTACS) website gives more information about:

how you can access taxis and private hire vehicles
your rights when travelling.

Wheelchair accessible vehicles

The following is a register of wheelchair accessible vehicles in Torbay. Is is also the designated list for the purposes of section 167 of the Equality Act 2010.

You can contract, hire or reward these vehicles. When making a booking, we would advise to make sure that the operator can accommodate your wheelchair or mobility needs.

The contact details are voluntary information provided by the licensed driver.

Hackney Carriage (Taxi) with wheelchair access
Plate Number	Registration	Vehicle Model	Vehicle Make	Company	Telephone
128	SF68 ETL	Peugeot	Premier	Lisa Burgess	07903840119

Private Hire with wheelchair access
Plate Number	Registration	Vehicle Model	Vehicle Make	Company	Telephone
038	OU68 CEO	Renault	Trafic	Not applicable	Not available
042	SF20 AVY	Ford	Tourneo	Not applicable	Not available
081	NV16 DME	Vauxhall	Vivaro	The Wheelchair Taxi Company	01803644644
095	OU21 CCK	Renault	Trafic	The Wheelchair Taxi Company	01803644644
105	SF70 ETD	Ford	Tourneo	RTK A1 Mobility Cars	01803266662
116	SF69 KKX	Peugeot	Rifter	Lisa Burgess	07903840119
180	NV67 RYA	Vauxhall	Vivaro	The Wheelchair Taxi Company	01803644644
189	SH75 RGZ	Peugeot	Rifter	Lisa Burgess	07903840119
195	NA72 AVF	Renault	Trafic	Freedom Taxis	01803895444
196	OU18 CFA	Renault	Trafic	The Wheelchair Taxi Company	01803644644
238	WU68 JHE	Vauxhall	Vivaro	The Wheelchair Taxi Company	01803644644
265	SA22 MVF	Peugeot	Rifter	RTK A1 Mobility Cars	01803266662
314	YY17 UBX	Volkswagen	Caddy Maxi	Not applicable	Not available
349	LF70 RNY	Peugeot	Eurobus	Not applicable	Not available
352	WO70 DZY	Renault	Master	Not applicable	Not available

Exemptions

We will give a driver an exemption certificate if they have a medical reason for not giving mobility help to a passenger.

The driver needs to display the certificate in the vehicle windscreen and shown to anyone if requested.

Drivers who do not need to give mobility help are not exempt from any of the other duties included in sections 164A, 165, and 165A of the Equality Act 2010. More information can be found on our guide to helping disabled passengers page.

We issue certificates to an individual. A certificate cannot be transferred to someone else.

Drivers that share a vehicle must remove the certificate when they're not using the vehicle.

Wheelchair instructional videos

We encourage all licensed drivers to watch the following videos:

They are to help wheelchair users in and out of the vehicle and secure the wheelchair safely in the vehicle. There are many different makes and models of licensed vehicles, however, the basic principles of what is required when carrying a person in a wheelchair remain the same.

Each driver must:

follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for their specific vehicle and read these instructions before starting work
know how the ramp mechanism works and its weight limits
know how the vehicles' securing straps work
make sure all straps are in good condition

How to report a vehicle refusal

If you have used a taxi or private hire vehicle and the driver:

refused to help you access the vehicle
discriminated you in any other way

Please let us know by reporting it online. Please note you can only report it to us if the driver is licensed by Torbay Council.