Future of the Coach Industry Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Transport
John Howell
Main Page: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)Department Debates - View all John Howell's debates with the Department for Transport
Future of the Coach Industry
John Howell Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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John Howell (Henley) (Con)
Like my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Sir Charles Walker), I have coach companies in my constituency that have never darkened my doorstep; they have just got on with their business. However, they have contacted me recently about an issue that nobody has raised so far: whether they should be compliant with the public service vehicles accessibility regulations.
To be PSVAR-compliant suggests that there is a distinction between making coaches available for disabled people and retrofitting those coaches to make them suitable for taking disabled people, but that is a false distinction, and I was pleased that, as a result of covid, Baroness Vere extended the time that coaches had to be compliant.
The reason I say that that is a false distinction is that in the home-to-school business, coach companies receive—in advance of setting off in the morning—a passenger list that identifies the people who are getting on the coach. It identifies the people who need disability assistance in order to make that coach ride. Many companies tell me that, in 20 or 30 years of being in business, they have received no requests for assistance for people with a disability. I wonder whether we can change the PSVAR rules, because I am absolutely behind ensuring we have coaches that are available for disabled people. If a list is provided in advance that makes it clear who is disabled and who is not, companies are prepared to put on coaches to pick up those people. This is an important issue. Many transport providers have been taken by surprise at the news that home-to-school service providers will have to comply with these regulations, as they previously thought the service would be exempt. The source of that confusion links back to the existence of pre-known passenger lists. I will leave this important issue on the table for the Minister to pick up.