36Carrying of passengers in wheelchairs
(1)This section imposes duties on the driver of a regulated taxi which has been hired—
(a)by or for a disabled person who is in a wheelchair; or
(b)by a person who wishes such a disabled person to accompany him in the taxi.
(2)In this section—
“carry” means carry in the taxi concerned; and
“the passenger” means the disabled person concerned.
(3)The duties are—
(a)to carry the passenger while he remains in his wheelchair;
(b)not to make any additional charge for doing so;
(c)if the passenger chooses to sit in a passenger seat, to carry the wheelchair;
(d)to take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the passenger is carried in safety and in reasonable comfort;
(e)to give such assistance as may be reasonably required—
(i)to enable the passenger to get into or out of the taxi;
(ii)if the passenger wishes to remain in his wheelchair, to enable him to be conveyed into and out of the taxi while in his wheelchair;
(iii)to load the passenger’s luggage into or out of the taxi;
(iv)if the passenger does not wish to remain in his wheelchair, to load the wheelchair into or out of the taxi.
(4)Nothing in this section is to be taken to require the driver of any taxi—
(a)except in the case of a taxi of a prescribed description, to carry more than one person in a wheelchair, or more than one wheelchair, on any one journey; or
(b)to carry any person in circumstances in which it would otherwise be lawful for him to refuse to carry that person.
(5)A driver of a regulated taxi who fails to comply with any duty imposed on him by this section is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(6)In any proceedings for an offence under this section, it is a defence for the accused to show that, even though at the time of the alleged offence the taxi conformed with those provisions of the taxi accessibility regulations with which it was required to conform, it would not have been possible for the wheelchair in question to be carried in safety in the taxi.
(7)If the licensing authority is satisfied that it is appropriate to exempt a person from the duties imposed by this section—
(a)on medical grounds, or
(b)on the ground that his physical condition makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for him to comply with the duties imposed on drivers by this section,
it shall issue him with a certificate of exemption.
(8)A certificate of exemption shall be issued for such period as may be specified in the certificate.
(9)The driver of a regulated taxi is exempt from the duties imposed by this section if—
(a)a certificate of exemption issued to him under this section is in force; and
(b)the prescribed notice of his exemption is exhibited on the taxi in the prescribed manner.