For a disabled passenger, a taxi or private hire vehicle is often the difference between independence and isolation — public transport doesn’t reach every door. Parliament recognised this in the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022, which amended the Equality Act 2010 to place clear duties on every driver, for every disabled passenger, in every licensed vehicle.
What the law now requires of drivers
Under the strengthened Equality Act provisions, drivers of taxis and PHVs must:
- Carry any disabled passenger, and their wheelchair or mobility aids, without refusal on grounds of disability.
- Provide reasonable mobility assistance — helping the passenger into and out of the vehicle, and loading their wheelchair, mobility aids or luggage.
- Charge no more than they would charge any other passenger for the same journey. Charging extra for a wheelchair user is a criminal offence.
- Carry assistance dogs at no extra charge — a long-standing duty that still generates prosecutions every year.
- Assist with identifying the vehicle where a passenger needs it because of their disability.
Breaching these duties is a criminal offence carrying a fine, and — often more significantly for a working driver — puts their licence at risk, because licensing authorities treat convictions and upheld complaints as fit-and-proper-person issues. Medical exemption certificates exist for drivers physically unable to assist, but they must be applied for and displayed; they are not assumed.
Why councils are mandating training
The Department for Transport’s statutory taxi and private hire standards and best practice guidance encourage licensing authorities to require disability awareness training as a condition of licensing — and a growing number of councils across England and Wales now do exactly that, for new licences, renewals or both. Even where it isn’t yet mandatory, operators are adopting it: it reduces complaints, protects drivers from misunderstandings that escalate into allegations, and is increasingly expected in contract work such as school and social services transport.
And there’s the service argument. Disabled people and their households represent enormous spending power, and passengers who find a driver they trust are famously loyal. Confidence in assisting a wheelchair user, guiding a blind passenger, or communicating with a Deaf or neurodivergent customer is a professional skill — one that most drivers were never taught.
What good training covers
Effective disability awareness training for drivers is practical, not theoretical: the legal duties above and what they mean on a real job; assisting wheelchair users safely — including securing wheelchairs correctly in WAVs; guiding visually impaired passengers and working with assistance dogs; communicating with passengers with hearing impairments, learning disabilities, autism and dementia; hidden disabilities and why “they didn’t look disabled” is never a defence; and handling situations professionally when something goes wrong.
Get certified online
Our online Taxi Driver Disability Awareness Training course covers all of this in a format working drivers can complete around shifts, with a certificate on completion to evidence training to your licensing authority or operator. Operators and councils looking to train whole fleets can contact us at info@nationalcompliancetraining.co.uk for group arrangements.
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