Debate on a motion on transport accessibility for disabled people

The subject for this debate has been chosen by the Backbench Business Committee and was put forward by the Transport Committee. In their proposal for the debate, Chair of the Transport Committee Ruth Cadbury MP said that the debate would be based on the recommendations of the Transport Committee’s report Access denied: rights versus reality in disabled people's access to transport. She also said that the motion is to agree with the Transport Committee that there is “an urgent need for review of the legislative framework and the enforcement regime to ensure that the gap between rights and obligations and the daily experience of disabled travellers is closed.”

The main UK Government legislation governing the rights of public transport users with disabilities or reduced mobility is in Part 12 of the Equality Act 2010, which applies to taxis, buses and coaches, and trains. It is supplemented by Part 3 of the act, which covers the wider equality duty for the provision of goods, services and facilities across all modes. There is also mode-specific legislation and retained EU law which underpin disabled passengers’ rights, especially for rail, air and maritime travel. Taken together, these rights are listed by travel mode, in Department for Transport (DfT) guidance on Rights of disabled passengers on transport.

Background information on transport accessibility is given in the Library briefing Access to transport for disabled people (11 July 2022).

Recent developments Integrated National Transport Strategy

In November 2024 the government announced that it would publish as Integrated National Transport Strategy. It said that this would set out how people would be able to take “seamless, integrated, and accessible journeys”. This has not been published yet, but on 17 March 2026, the government said that it would publish the Integrated National Transport Strategy “soon”.

The government has taken steps to improve accessibility for individual modes of transport, as outlined below.

Rail

The government introduced the Railways Bill in November 2025. This would create Great British Railways (GBR), which would be responsible for operating most passenger train services in England, as well as operating and managing most railway infrastructure in Great Britain. The bill would give GBR a duty to promote the interests and needs of passengers, and in particular disabled passengers. GBR’s license would also include consumer standards on accessibility for disabled passengers and other passengers requiring assistance

Alongside the bill, the government published an Accessible railways roadmap (5 November 2025). This sets out the government’s plans to commit £373 million over the next five years to deliver accessibility improvements through the Access for All programme, the main programme for funding accessibility improvements. It also sets out the government’s plan to change the Access for All programme to a rolling programme, with a commitment of up to £70 million of funding per year.

Further information on this is given in section 2.6 ‘Supporting documents’ of the Library briefing on the bill, Railways Bill 2024-26.

Roads Motability

Under the Motability scheme, an eligible disabled person pays to lease a Motability vehicle by allowing for all or part of their social security benefits to be paid direct to Motability Operations. The government has said that it aims to provide an affordable way for disabled people to lease a new car, wheelchair-accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair, helping people with significant mobility issues participate in society. However, concerns have been raised that the scheme is not focused on “essential, practical mobility”.

In her 2025 Budget statement the Chancellor announced that the government would “reduce generous taxpayer subsidies” which the Motability scheme is given (HC Deb 26 November c393).

At present the lease of a vehicle under the Motability Scheme, and the subsequent sale of these vehicles, are charged VAT at the zero rate. In addition, vehicles under the Motability Scheme may be entitled to relief from insurance premium tax (IPT). Block insurance policies held by Motability, under which all those disabled drivers who lease their vehicles under the Motability scheme are insured, are exempt.

In the Budget the government announced a change to the scope of both tax reliefs from July 2026:

Motability Scheme: Reforming tax reliefs – From July 2026, vehicles leased through the Motability Scheme, or through any equivalent qualifying schemes, will be subject to 20% VAT on top-up payments which are made in addition to the transfer of eligible welfare payments for more expensive vehicles on the scheme. Insurance Premium Tax will also be applied at the standard rate of 12% for insurance related to vehicles leased through the scheme. Tax changes will not apply to vehicles designed for, or substantially and permanently adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users.

Budget 2025, HC 1492 (PDF) November 2025, para 4.17

HMRC published further details alongside the Budget report.

Provision to make these changes to both VAT and IPT were included in the Finance Act 2026 (specifically sections 80-81). They were subject to a short debate at the committee stage of the bill (Public Bill Committee (Finance Bill) (PDF) 29 January 2026 cc112-4).

The Budget report also confirmed a number of changes that Motability had announced to the scheme at this time:

Motability will remove luxury vehicles from the scheme, discontinue the inclusion of overseas breakdown cover and reduce their lease mileage limit. This will bring Motability leases more in line with those available commercially to most people.

Budget 2025, HC 1492 (PDF) November 2025, para 2.78

Pavement parking

Pavement parking is not currently an offence outside of London. Several charities have campaigned for it to be more strictly regulated due to the impact which pavement parking has on accessibility for people with disabilities, as well as those using prams (see, for example, Living Streets and Guide Dogs). This matter has also been raised in Parliament, for example in a recent debate on women’s safety in active travel, and in several parliamentary questions.

In January 2026, the government published a response to its consultation on pavement parking in England. Its ministerial foreword explicitly acknowledges the government’s 2020 Inclusive Transport Strategy, and that addressing pavement parking is part of meeting its aims.

The consultation response states that the government is not going to pursue a national ban on pavement parking. Instead, it first intends to introduce secondary legislation to ensure local authorities can enforce against ‘egregious’ cases of obstruction caused by pavement parking. It says that the government would then introduce primary legislation to create powers to enable local transport authorities to prohibit pavement parking on an opt-in basis.

On 5 March 2026, Lilian Greenwood MP, Minister for Local Transport, said that the Department for Transport had begun work on secondary legislation and guidance for local authorities to issue Penalty Charge Notices for vehicles parked in a way that unnecessarily obstructs the pavement, along with associated stakeholder engagement.

A government amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, as of late March 2026 awaiting report stage in the Lords, would give the Secretary of State powers to make these regulations (HL Bill 174 Running list of amendments – 19 March 2026 [PDF], pp106 and 118-121)

Further information on pavement parking is given in sections 2.6 to 2.11 of the Library briefing Parking FAQs.

Blue badges

As at 31 March 2025, there were 3.07 million valid blue badges in circulation across England.

The government’s advisory ‘Inclusive mobility’ guidance indicates how many disabled parking bays should be provided in car parks. For example, it notes that car parks associated with shopping areas, leisure or recreational facilities should have at least one space for each employee who is a disabled motorist, plus 6% of the total capacity for visiting disabled motorists.

Further Information on the Blue Badge scheme is provided in the Library briefing Blue Badges and parking for disabled people (20 August 2024).

Taxis

In Great Britain, taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licenses are issued by local licensing authorities, which are usually local councils (district councils or unitary authorities), with the exception of Transport for London in London. The government has launched a consultation on making local transport authorities (unitary authorities, county councils or strategic authorities) responsible for licensing.

In a government amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill at Commons Report Stage, the government introduced a number of new clauses which would enable the setting of national minimum standards in licensing (new clauses 49 to 57 [PDF]). Speaking about these new clauses, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities, said that national minimum standards would mean that people with disabilities would be reassured that the taxi and PHV drivers have undergone rigorous vetting.

Buses

The DfT’s guidance on the rights of disabled passengers on transport and the Inclusive Transport Strategy set out what passengers travelling on buses and coaches can expect:

• vehicles designed to carry over 22 passengers to comply with accessibility standards, namely the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR).
• drivers to provide certain forms of assistance such as ramps and lifts to help them board and alight the service.
• local authorities to make reasonable adjustments to bus stops and shelters, where these are not sufficiently accessible.
• to receive free bus travel during off-peak times. Bus passes from councils enable disabled passengers to travel for free at any time on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday or between 9:30am to 11pm on other days.
• not be denied travel, or the opportunity to purchase a ticket, unless it is not possible for them to board or doing so would contravene health and safety legislation.
• staff to have had disability awareness training.
• to have any mobility aids that are damaged on their journey to be fixed or replaced.

Legislation

The accessibility of buses and coaches are covered by multiple pieces of legislation.

The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) apply to vehicles carrying over 22 passengers. They include the provision of priority seating, a lift or ramp, at least one space for a wheelchair and handholds. The regulations also cover the dimensions for wheelchair space.

The Public Service Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990 require drivers to provide certain forms of assistance to disabled passengers.

EU Regulation 181/2011/EU covers the rights of bus and coach passengers. In addition to the rights of disabled passengers, and those with reduced mobility, these regulations cover passenger rights when services are delayed, cancelled or when accidents occur. The Rights of Passengers in Bus and Coach Transport (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 were introduced to ensure the regime remained in place after the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Sections 21, 30, 31 and 32 of the Bus Services Act 2025 contain measures intended to improve the accessibility of bus services in England. Specifically, they cover the:

• publication of accessibility plans
• provision and design of floating bus stops
• duty for authorities to provide information on stopping places to the Secretary of State

Floating bus stops

The term ‘floating bus stop’ is used as an umbrella term to include all design types where a cycle track and bus stop intersect and where pedestrians and cyclists may interact. Section 31 of the Bus Services Act 2025 provides a legal definition.

In September 2024 Guide Dogs published Designing for Inclusion [PDF]. The research highlighted the challenges disabled people face when boarding and leaving a bus directly onto a cycle track and the practical challenges in safely navigating these spaces for a wide range of groups. Guide Dogs’ recommendation as a result was that a moratorium on ‘shared use designs’ should be put in place until there was evidence they could be implemented safely.

On 20 November 2025 the Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood MP wrote to all local authorities in England asking them to pause the installation of floating bus stop designs which require passengers to board or alight directly from or into a cycle track.

The gov.uk page Floating bus stops provision and design (26 January 2026) provides guidance on the topic.

Chapter 6.5 of the Department for Transport’s 2007 Manual for Streets (PDF) contains general guidance on the placement of bus stops, notably:

• The siting of bus stops should be based on trying to ensure they can be easily accessed on foot. Their precise location will depend on other issues, such as the need to avoid noise nuisance, visibility requirements, and the convenience of pedestrians and cyclists;
• Footways at bus stops should be wide enough for waiting passengers while still allowing for pedestrian movement along the footway. This may require local widening at the stop;

Aviation

The Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group was established in November 2024, bringing together the aviation industry, consumer representatives and the Civil Aviation Authority. The Group was tasked with:

• identifying key challenges and barriers faced by disabled passengers when travelling by air
• developing practical and achievable actions to improve accessibility across the aviation sector

It published its report in July 2025. This presented the Group’s findings and recommendations, structured around five main areas:

• training
• passenger information and communications
• non-visible impairments
• mobility aid design and handling
• tailored service and delivery

Following the publication of the report, the Aviation Accessibility Implementation Group replaced the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group. This supports the implementation and monitors progress of the recommendations set out in the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group’s report.

Micro-mobility (e-bikes and e-scooters)

There has been concern raised about the safety of e-scooters for pedestrians, particularly those who are visually impaired. In evidence given to the Transport Committee’s e-scooter follow up session in February 2023, Clive Wood, Lead Regional Policy and Campaigns Manager at Guide Dogs, said:

The feedback we are getting is that over 80% of the blind and partially sighted people we have asked have come in contact with e-scooters. Over 70% of them said that it was in a negative way […]

50% of blind and partially sighted people tell us that they are now changing their routine. They avoid going to certain places […] Twelve per cent of them have had e-scooters hit their mobility tool, either hitting their cane, or brushing up against their dog.

In July 2023 the then government responded to concerns over safety of e-scooters for those who are visually impaired, saying it had put in place measures to improve safety for disabled people, such as requiring all e-scooters in trials to have a bell or horn. It also said it would continue to work with groups representing individuals who are visually impaired, to review options for regulations.

Clause 23 and schedule 5 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill as amended in Grand Committee would require micromobility schemes to be licensed by the relevant local or strategic authority. This would let them regulate where rental e-bikes and e-scooters can be parked. This is explained further in section 3.3 of the Library briefing English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill 2024-25.

Parliamentary scrutiny Transport Committee Inquiry

In March 2025, the Transport Committee published Access denied: rights versus reality in disabled people's access to transport. This identified three principal issues: the burden placed on individual disabled people to take action to hold transport operators and authorities; the complex and fragmented landscape of legislative and regulatory requirements; and failures in the level of formal enforcement action by regulators.

The government’s response was published on 13 June 2025. The government said it would undertake further work to explore how complaints processes and escalation routes could be simplified. It also accepted the committee’s recommendation to review the legislative framework for accessibility in transport, and said that it had approached the Law Commission to assess its capacity to undertake this work. On enforcement action by regulators, it highlighted that the Department for Transport would engage with the Cabinet Office review of Arms-length Bodies, and would work with representative bodies of disabled people, regulators and operators to strengthen enforcement mechanisms.

Further information

The Library has published a number of briefings and dashboards on this topic, including:

• Access to transport for disabled people (11 July 2022)
• How accessible are Britain’s railway stations? (3 November 2025)
• Blue Badges and parking for disabled people (20 August 2024)
• Buses and Taxis FAQs (15 January 2026)
• Concessionary bus travel (9 August 2024)