Wheelchair accessible taxis and the Equality Act: what operators must do

The wheelchair accessible taxi rules sit in sections 164A to 173 of the Equality Act 2010, and they put duties on three people: the driver, the private hire operator and the council. The Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 widened them from 28 June 2022 and added offences for private hire operators, so check that anything you read is from after that date. This guide sets out each duty with its section number, the defences, the exemptions and what to change in your office.

Which parts of the Equality Act cover taxis and private hire?

Eleven sections do the work, with the definitions in section 173. Every offence below carries a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale, which the Sentencing Act 2020 sets at £1,000 in England and Wales.

The duties apply in London too, where Transport for London is the licensing authority. In Scotland, sections 164A to 167A also cover Scottish-licensed taxis and private hire cars, and section 167A covers booking office licence holders, but the assistance dog sections (168 to 171) only cover vehicles licensed in England and Wales. The Equality Act's taxi sections don't extend to Northern Ireland.

What must a driver do for a disabled passenger?

Section 164A applies to every taxi and private hire driver, whatever the car, except that a wheelchair user in a designated car is covered by section 165 instead. When the vehicle has been hired by or for a disabled person, or by someone travelling with one, the driver must:

1. carry the passenger;
2. carry their wheelchair, if they have one;
3. carry any mobility aids, such as a walking frame;
4. take reasonable steps to carry the passenger in safety and reasonable comfort;
5. give the mobility assistance reasonably required, such as help getting in and out and loading the wheelchair or luggage;
6. not make, or propose, any extra charge for doing any of that.

There are defences. A driver isn't guilty of failing to carry the passenger if they couldn't reasonably have known the passenger was disabled. A wheelchair or mobility aid doesn't have to go if it couldn't be carried safely, or it wouldn't be reasonable in the circumstances. And a driver doesn't have to carry more than one wheelchair on a journey unless the vehicle is of a type the Secretary of State has prescribed.

Section 165A adds one more duty for private hire drivers and drivers of pre-booked taxis. If they're told before the journey that the passenger needs help to identify or find the car, they must take reasonable steps to help, again at no extra charge.

What extra duties come with a car on the section 167 list?

Section 165 covers the drivers of "designated" vehicles: the taxis and private hire vehicles on the council's list of wheelchair accessible vehicles. When a wheelchair user hires one, the driver must carry them while seated in the wheelchair, or carry the wheelchair if they'd rather sit in a passenger seat, and must take "such steps as are necessary" for their safety and reasonable comfort. That's a higher bar than the "reasonable" steps in section 164A.

Section 167 now says every licensing authority must maintain and publish the list. The Department for Transport's statutory guidance recommends a vehicle goes on the list only if a passenger in a "reference wheelchair", 700mm wide, 1200mm long and 1350mm high, can get in, travel and get out safely while seated. The guidance also recommends updating the published list at least every three months.

DfT figures for 1 April 2026 show 98% of licensing authorities in England kept a list of wheelchair accessible taxis, and 94% a list of wheelchair accessible private hire vehicles. If the council adds your car to its list and you disagree, section 172 gives you 28 days to appeal to the magistrates' court.

What are a private hire operator's duties?

Two offences fall on the operator directly. Under section 167A, a private hire operator commits an offence by refusing or failing to accept a booking by or for a disabled person because the passenger is disabled, or to keep a driver out of the section 164A, 165 or 165A duties. Charging extra for any of those duties is an offence too. Under section 170, refusing a booking because the passenger will have an assistance dog with them, or charging extra for the dog, is also an offence.

There's one defence, and only for the disability booking offence. Section 167A says an operator isn't guilty if it was reasonable not to accept the booking because there were no suitable vehicles. There's no matching defence for assistance dogs.

The Department for Transport's best practice guidance tells councils that cases "should be prosecuted" where there's enough evidence of an offence under section 167A or section 170, or where an operator has discriminated or failed to make reasonable adjustments. It also expects councils to require operators' digital booking platforms to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standard.

The statutory guidance on disabled access recommends that drivers and operators ask every passenger, at the booking stage, whether they need assistance and what kind. Ask what help is needed, never what the passenger's impairment is.

Can a driver be exempt from the duties?

Yes, on medical grounds, with a certificate from the council. Section 166 lets a driver be exempted from the mobility assistance duties on medical grounds, or because their physical condition makes the help impossible or unreasonably difficult. Sections 169 and 171 do the same for assistance dogs in taxis and private hire vehicles.

Bristol City Council's process shows how it works: the driver fills in the application form, their doctor completes and signs part two, and if it's granted the driver must display the exemption certificate in the car. Bristol gives an allergy to dogs as one example of a medical reason.

An exemption covers the driver, not the firm. A private hire operator still can't turn down the booking because of the dog. It has to send a driver who can take it.

How many wheelchair accessible vehicles are there?

Not many on the private hire side. The Department for Transport counted 34,500 wheelchair accessible taxis and private hire vehicles in England on 1 April 2026, 4% fewer than in 2024. That's 10% of all licensed vehicles: 54% of taxis, but only 2% of private hire vehicles. Seven licensing authorities had none at all.

Some councils require them. In Bristol, every hackney carriage licensed by the council must be able to carry a passenger in a wheelchair. Accessible private hire cars are optional there, so the private hire side relies on operators choosing to run them. Our guide to choosing vehicles for a taxi fleet covers the grant for converted wheelchair accessible vehicles and the council rules on vehicle types.

What should an operator change in the office?

Make the duties part of how every booking is taken, not something the driver sorts out at the kerb.

1. Ask at the booking stage whether the passenger needs any help, and whether they'll stay in a wheelchair or bring an assistance dog.
2. Record the answer on the booking, so the job goes to a driver and car that can do it.
3. Keep a list of your own accessible cars and the drivers with exemption certificates.
4. Never quote more for a wheelchair, mobility aids or a dog.
5. If you have no suitable car, write down why, and pass the job to another licensed operator if you can. Our guide to subcontracting bookings between operators explains how.
6. Train the people who take calls. DfT figures show 74% of licensing authorities in England required disability awareness training for private hire drivers in 2026, up from 65% in 2024.
7. Check your website and app booking forms let passengers say what help they need.

Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms. Whatever system takes your bookings, test that it never turns away a wheelchair or assistance dog booking, and that those bookings reach someone who can give them a suitable car. Good handling here is part of customer service in a taxi firm, and the duties sit alongside safeguarding for taxi firms in what your council expects.