Yorkshire taxis

Taxi travel overview

In some UK areas (mainly larger cities), licensed taxis have to be wheelchair accessible. 

Within Yorkshire, you can contact the taxi licensing office at your local council, to find out if there are accessible taxis near you.

A list of licensed hackney carriages or private hire vehicles, which are fully wheelchair accessible, is also available on many council websites. 

Selected accessible taxi companies

Central Cars Leeds 

Provide wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Contact: Leeds City Office 0113 700 700

Leeds City Council 

LCC are able to provide passengers with contact details for local and regional taxi companies which provide journeys for disabled passengers with or without a wheelchair or mobility scooter. 

Contact: 0113 222 4444 or email general.enquiries@leeds.gov.uk 

Further taxi information can be found on the LCC website.

City of York Council

Provide a list of licensed hackney carriages or private hire vehicles which are fully wheelchair accessible(apply the filter for wheelchair adapted vehicles).

Harrogate Borough Council

Provide a wheelchair-accessible taxis.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Provide a list of wheelchair-accessible taxis.

Planning a journey

• Book a licensed vehicle in advance and use a trusted company or driver.  
• When booking a taxi from a firm which is not solely a wheelchair specialist, ensure you mention at the time of booking that you will need an accessible car. 
• Check that your destination is accessible before leaving for your journey.
• When booking in advance, keep a record of your phone, email or app booking and your journey information.

Keeping safe when travelling

Many taxi companies now offer wheelchair-accessible vehicles, which you should specify when booking if required.

Wheelchair-accessible taxis are usually black cabs, wheelchair-adapted vehicles, people carriers, minibuses or converted small vans. They may have a ramp or a passenger lift to assist the wheelchair user with getting into the vehicle, which is far easier than transferring from a wheelchair to a car seat and dismantling the wheelchair for the journey. 

As wheelchairs are carefully designed to support a disabled person, wheelchair-accessible taxis allow disabled people to stay in the position that is best for their body and posture.

Wheelchair-accessible taxis must be equipped to secure the wheelchair when the cab is in motion. Seat belts or lap belts should be available to keep the wheelchair user steady.

Wheelchair-accessible taxis are also adding different forms of lighting to help the visually impaired.

All the equipment in a wheelchair taxi should be regularly tested by the driver to ensure it remains in good repair.

Operator obligations

Disabled passengers travelling by Taxi or Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) have a number of rights, including:

• Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010.

Requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments to enable passengers to access their services.

• Section 165 of the Equality Act 2010.

Requires non-exempt drivers of taxis and PHVs designated as wheelchair accessible to accept the carriage of wheelchair users, to provide them with appropriate assistance, and to refrain from charging them more than other passengers would pay for the same service. 

• Sections 168 and 170 of the Equality Act 2010.

Requires non-exempt drivers of taxis and PHVs to accept the carriage of assistance dogs and to refrain from charging extra for them

As well as the above rules on wheelchairs and assistance dogs, all taxi and minicab drivers must make sure they do not discriminate against disabled passengers and cannot treat them less favourably than other customers.

They should also make any ‘reasonable adjustments’ to their service for passengers to make the journey easier.