WHEELCHAIR TAXIS

Central Coast Taxis has two types of wheelchair vehicles within its own fleet: Toyota Commuter vans and Kia Carnivals (also known as a flash cab). Our HiAce wheelchair vans can accommodate 2 wheelchairs while our Kia’s can only transport 1 wheelchair at a time. During any wheelchair transport we can supply suitable seating for the passengers’ support person travelling with them.

Wheelchair accessible taxis play an important role in the point to point transport industry providing safe passenger services for people in wheelchairs. Everyone involved in the provision of wheelchair accessible services has specific safety obligations which ensure the vehicle being used is safe and compliant.

As a person involved in the provision of wheelchair accessible services it is important that you understand your safety duties and obligations.

The Meter:

The fare calculation device (meter) can be started once the passenger and their wheelchair have been secured safely into the vehicle at the start of your trip.

  • The driver is required to turn the meter off when the taxi arrives at the specified destination, before assisting the passenger from the taxi or unloading their wheelchair from the vehicle.
  • The driver should pause the meter off when the journey has temporarily stopped, for example, to refuel the vehicle.
  • The meter should be stopped when the driver asks for fare payment.

Mobility scooters:

Passengers are not permitted to travel while seated in a mobility scooter. They must be seated in the normal passenger seats and restrained with a seat belt prior to the scooter being loaded and secured. This is for their own safety and that of the driver and any other customers in the taxi.

  • A scooter must only be loaded if it can be safely loaded, carried and adequately secured using approved restraints. The scooter must be secured using all restraints to prevent movement of the scooter during the journey.
  • Passengers may travel while seated in a wheelchair only if it can be adequately secured using a four-point restraint system.
  • If the wheelchair does not have a four-point restraint system, then the passenger cannot be transported while seated in the wheelchair. In this case, the passenger will need to be seated in the normal passenger seats and restrained with a seat belt.

Network obligation to the Point to Point Transport Commission:

Taxi Service Providers, facilitators, and Booking Service Providers must ensure the driver of a WAT is competent. To fully comply with the law and to ensure safety of passengers, Taxi Service Providers, facilitators, and Booking Service Providers must ensure ongoing competency of drivers. Training and assessment processes must be effective in maintaining and assessing drivers’ skills on an ongoing basis.

The Network must ensure that:

  • drivers can demonstrate competence in safely loading, restraining and unloading a person.
  • drivers are competent in communicating with, and assisting passengers with differing levels of ability  
  • drivers will accept a hiring for a person in a wheelchair in preference to a hiring for a person not using a wheelchair.
  • drivers will ensure that the wheelchair is safely secured to the vehicle throughout the hiring.
  • drivers will not start the fare calculation device (meter) before the taxi is ready to safely transport a passenger in a wheelchair and must terminate the hiring when the taxi stops at the destination.
  • each WAT is fitted with a child restraint suitable for children aged 0 – 12 months.