Overview
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gave the Secretary of State for Transport powers to make accessibility regulations.
These regulations will enable disabled people to use a several modes of land-based transport in safety and in reasonable comfort. This includes disabled people who use wheelchairs and wish to remain in them whilst travelling.
The purpose of this project was to review the results of previous research on ergonomic factors concerning the use of public transport by disabled people. The project also considered the economic impact of the regulations on both the bus and taxi industries.
The project provided ad-hoc technical advice during the preparation of regulations for public service vehicles (PSVs) and required considerable liaison with industry and other key stakeholders to assess the economic aspects of proposed regulations.
Funding
Results
The research provided information on the technical and economic implications of the proposed regulations that were being made under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The project has also provided:
- An estimate of the additional continuing costs associated with improving access to buses and coaches as well as to fully (wheelchair) accessible taxis;
- An estimate of the additional revenue generated by the fully accessible buses;
- An estimate of the total capital costs of achieving a fully accessible bus and taxi fleet.
Policy implications
The project assisted in the preparation of The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 and The Public Service Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) regulations 2002. It also yielded Regulatory Impact Assessments which permitted to the implementation of the above regulations, but at that time postponed the implementation of equivalent regulations for taxis.