[holding answer 2 November 2006]: There are no plans to require car hire firms to provide wheelchair accessible vehicles to carry a passenger who remains seated in their wheelchair. However, the effect of the Disability Discrimination (Transport Vehicles) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/3190), which come into force on 4 December 2006, is to apply the duties in section 21(2) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (duty of providers of services to make adjustments) to vehicle rental firms in respect of vehicles comprising of eight passenger seats or less.
This means that, from 4 December, firms who hire out such vehicles will be under a duty to take such steps as are reasonable to alter the physical features of those vehicles so as to provide facilities for the stowage of a wheelchair. It will be for vehicle rental firms to determine, within the reasonableness test, how and the extent to which this requirement should be met.
A statutory code of practice has been produced by the Disability Rights Commission to assist car hire firms and others to understand and implement the new duties.