Making private hire services more accessible to disabled people

A good practice guide for Private Hire Vehicle operators and drivers

Affordability issues

A general principle is that disabled passengers should not be charged extra, nor should there be an additional charge for carrying mobility equipment, (including a wheelchair or an assistance dog). Similarly, when larger vehicles, such as MPVs or 'people carriers' are included in the fleet, there should be no additional charge for use of these vehicles.

There is also a sound business case for the PHV industry for the promotion and encouragement of schemes that make this form of transport affordable to more people, since this is a means for increasing travel by PHV.

Setting up voucher schemes

A voucher scheme will require some level of funding; therefore, before setting up such a scheme, the operator should ensure that long-term (i.e. 3 to 5 years) funding is secured. Funding might be sought both locally, or nationally, through the National Lotteries Charities Board. The operator should be prepared for the following cost items: reimbursement to operators for the cost of subsidised travel, personnel costs of a full-time or part-time Transport Administrator, training costs for Transport Administrator (if needed), printing costs for membership cards, tokens and other publicity material, rental for office space, and miscellaneous office equipment costs and other running costs.

Consideration should be given to the production of additional printed materials, such as membership application forms, member feedback forms, complaint forms (for both passengers and operators) and various pro formas for claiming reimbursement, drivers' trip log sheets etc. All printed material intended for members of the public should be in an accessible format, ensuring, for example, that all fonts used are of at least 14pt in size, with Arial or sans serif being the preferred font types.

Membership of such a scheme usually entails an annual fee whose collection may have significant administrative implications. The scheme's administrator will also need to compile and maintain a list of all participating operators involved, and draw up a formal statement that can serve as a definition of the conditions of the scheme for participating operators. Such a statement should include a description of the population groups that the scheme seeks to benefit, a definition of the geographical boundaries of the scheme etc.

It is important that local community groups should be consulted during the setting up of a voucher scheme, in order to ensure that the nature of the service meets the needs and aspirations of the people for whom it is intended.

An operator's participation in such a scheme implies that it should be able, and prepared, to offer a high quality, accessible service for the membership, so participants would be expected to ensure that their staff are adequately trained in disability awareness, passenger assistance skills and customer care issues. The administrator should monitor the extent to which standards of courtesy and time-keeping are maintained - using feedback from members - in addition to routine checks on the safety, comfort and cleanliness of vehicles. Similarly, there might be a need, particularly when setting up a scheme, for some research to be done on the availability of accessible vehicles and radio circuits, and the type and number of vehicles that might be available. Such an inventory of the accessible vehicle parc available might need to be repeated during the course of the scheme.

The scheme will need membership criteria. Normally, eligibility will be on a self-certification basis, the core criterion being that the applicant is unable, reasonably, to use mainstream public transport, due to a permanent physical, sensory, cognitive or mental health impairment. It is possible, however, to extend this general criterion to people who have a temporary impairment (e.g. after an accident, or a stroke etc.), pregnant women, people on low income, people with a mental health problem or any other person who might, for some other reason, not be able to use conventional public transport.

Published: 03 December 2003

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