Disabled taxi plans drawn up
By Jo Winrow
Guidelines for taxi drivers who want to convert their vehicles to be accessible to wheelchair-bound passengers are set to be agreed.
Drivers of hackney carriages and private-hire vehicles have long been calling for Bradford Council to provide written specifications as more vehicles are switched over.
A draft version of the guidelines has been consulted on and now the Council’s regulatory and appeals committee is due to approve them on Wednesday.
In October the committee decided that all hackney carriages due to replaced after January 1, 2009, would have to be wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
This follows an agreement with the Braford Hackney Carriage Owners’ Association whereby ten existing saloon taxis would be switched over every year – meaning 30 should have been converted since 2005.
However, only 12 had been converted in that time, so the Council looked for another solution.
The new regulations are designed to ensure that by 2012 virtually all the hackney carriages in the district will be accessible to wheelchair-users as older vehicles drop out of commission and are renewed.
A report to the meeting says the current practice is becoming “increasingly difficult to manage due to the demands of the trade and the uncertainty of the legality of vehicles”.
If the specifications are approved it will clearly define a “safety orientated and consistent technical standard” for all replacement taxi vehicles.
It includes details of seating capacity, seat belts, wheelchair space and access, rear-access doors, handrails and gaps between seats.
C D Khalid, president of the Hackney Carriages Owners’ association, said he had received three draft copies of the guidelines but had had no negotiations with the Council on the content.
He said he hoped to make his concerns felt at the meeting at Keighley Town Hall at 10am.