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Avoiding disability discrimination in transport - a practical guide for vehicle rental firms

This guide is aimed at vehicle rental firms operating in England, Scotland and Wales and offers practical advice in serving disabled customers and potential customers. All aspects of the journey are considered, including those services provided before, during and after it. Rental firms should avoid stereotypical assumptions as to whether or not someone is disabled, or as to the extent of someone's disability. One issue which the range of different disabilities serves to emphasise is the importance of staff training in disability awareness and equality issues. Staff attitudes towards disabled customers are often cited as the single most important aspect determining satisfaction with a service. The DRC recommends that the ultimate aim for all transport providers should be to integrate provision for disabled customers to the point where it is automatically planned into the provision of any service, vehicle or building and, ideally, main streamed within that provision. This is in order to prevent, wherever possible, a situation in which disabled people are separated out from other service users as 'special cases'. It covers the whole process of renting a car (a class M1 vehicle with fewer than 8 seats), including those services provided before, during and after the transaction. The DRC believes that in the majority of circumstances it would be reasonable to require a disabled customer who needs adaptations to the vehicle to book their vehicle 2 working days in advance. In assessing whether a vehicle will meet a disabled customer's needs rental firms may find the Ricability Website useful, www.ricability.org.uk. This now includes a car measurement guide with details of featuressuch as boot size and sill height, and door opening angles for the majority of major car manufacturers. Vehicle rental firms are not expected to provide all types of equipment for disabled customers, and what they are expected to provide will take account of the size and resources of the business. Larger firms will probably contract with a specialist firm to provide a range of equipment including hand controls when requested by customers. Medium sized firms may prefer to hold information about the firms which can provide equipment, without necessarily entering into a formal contract. It is likely to be only a small number of specialist firms will want to consider offering hire vehicles fitted with the more elaborate controls. Provided that the sub-contractor is able to fit the equipment which has been agreed with the disabled customer they should be treated in the same way as any other customer when they come to collect the vehicle. It is generally understood that the Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to pass on the costs of making adjustments to services for disabled people to individual disabled customers. However, some of the more specialist equipment such as that which allows a car to be driven by someone who remains intheir wheelchair would be considered to be a specialist service for whicha charge could be made. This report may be accessed at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/Documents/Disability/Transport/Vehiclerental.doc

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Pagination: 30p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01091078
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: TRL
  • Files: ITRD
  • Created Date: Mar 31 2008 8:04AM