Two vehicles with a rear ramp and a trained driver, the same fare as a saloon, booked an hour ahead
Wheelchair-accessible cars
Two wheelchair-accessible vehicles with a rear ramp, four-point restraints and a seatbelt for the chair user, driven by drivers trained to load and secure a chair properly, at the same fixed fare as a saloon. Hospital, day centre, the shops, the match and the airport, booked an hour ahead in the day and the night before for the morning.
Two of the twenty-two cars have a rear ramp, a lowered floor and four-point restraints, and six of our drivers are trained to use them, which means a chair user in Pontypridd can book a taxi an hour ahead and pay the same as everyone else. It is a small thing on paper and the people who use it tell us it is not small.
The vehicles take a manual or a powered chair up to 120cm long, with the user staying in the chair, secured with four restraints to the floor and a lap-and-diagonal belt; or the user transfers to a seat and the folded chair goes in the back, whichever they prefer. Loading takes about three minutes and is not charged. Up to three companions travel in the same car. Assistance dogs travel in the cabin.
Booking is an hour ahead in the day because two vehicles are shared among a lot of regular hospital and day-centre runs, and the night before for anything before 10am. Regular journeys (dialysis, the day centre on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Friday shop) are set up once and run on the same driver. The fare is the fixed fare for the zone, the same as a saloon; airport runs in the accessible vehicle are the airport fare with the ramp thrown in.
The drivers who do this work have done the council's disability awareness and safe-loading training, carry a step and a cushion, and will come to the door, help with the coat and wait while the key is found. If both vehicles are out when you ring we say so and give you the next time one is free, rather than sending a saloon and hoping.
What is included
- A rear ramp and a lowered floor
- Four-point restraints and a belt for the chair user
- Drivers trained to load and secure a chair
- The same fixed fare as a saloon
- Up to three companions and an assistance dog
- Regular runs set up once, same driver
What it costs
The same fixed fares as a saloon: £6 in town, Cardiff Airport £48, by zone to everywhere else. No surcharge for the ramp, the loading time or a companion. Booked an hour ahead in the day, the night before for a morning hospital run. The fares page has every zone to every destination and the quote; the airports page has the three airports in detail.
Questions about accessible cars
Is there a charge for the wheelchair?
No. The fare is the fixed fare for the zone, exactly as for a saloon, and the loading time is not charged.
Can I book a regular hospital run?
Yes, set up once with the days and times and run on the same driver. The office checks the appointment list with you each month.
Ring for a car now, or book a fixed time for the airport.
Cars on the road twenty-four hours a day from the office on Gelliwastad Road, with the fare fixed before you get in. Ring 01443 496 0700 any hour, or book here for a set time, an airport run, an eight-seater or the ramp car and the office confirms within the hour in the day.