Hire Vehicles - Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 bans unfair treatment and helps achieve equal opportunities in the workplace and within society. The Act replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act to make the law simpler and to remove inconsistencies. Sections 160 to 173 of the Equality Act 2010 are directly aimed at hackney carriage (taxi) and private hire drivers and vehicles.
The Council is able to set a date from when it will be unlawful in our area, under the terms of the 2010 Act, for drivers of licensed East Lindsey designated wheelchair accessible taxi and private hire vehicles to:
refuse to carry passengers in wheelchairs;
refuse to provide assistance to those passengers, and,
charge wheelchair passengers extra for their journey.
The Council has set that date as being 31st October 2017.
The current list of wheelchair accessible vehicles licensed by us and designated for the purposes of the 2010 Act can be found under Related Documents on this webpage. At present we have approximately 130 licensed hackney carriage vehicles of which about 40 are wheelchair accessible. In addition, there are about 139 private hire vehicles of which 1 is a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
Section 166 of the Act allows the Council to exempt drivers from the duties to assist passengers in wheelchairs if we are satisfied that it is appropriate to do so on medical grounds or because the driver's physical condition makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for him or her to comply with the duties.
We accept applications from drivers for an exemption under Section 166. The details of the application process are available by contacting our Licensing Team - as part of the application process drivers are required to submit an application requesting an exemption together with a medical certificate from their own GP.
Our policy regarding driver exemptions can be found below.
Section 167 of the Act relates to duties imposed on us to provide a list of wheelchair accessible hackney carriages and private hire vehicles. We first published the designated list on this webpage on 31st October 2017.
Sections 168 - 171 relate to the carriage of guide dogs and other assistance dogs.
Drivers of licensed taxis, and private hire vehicles have a duty to carry, without additional cost, any guide dog or other registered assistance dog, travelling with a disabled person.
Drivers can apply for an exemption from these duties on medical grounds. The details of the application process are available by contacting our Licensing Team - licensing@e-lindsey.gov.uk .
The Government has issued guidance for Licensing Authorities on the taxi and private hire vehicle duties under the Equality Act 2010.The guidance can be found by following this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-taxis-and-private-hire-vehicles-for-disabled-users