Buses: Wheelchair Users

Lord McInnes of Kilwinning Excerpts

Tuesday 15th May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, I am pleased to hear of the provision of the Oxford Tube service. For many disabled people, the quality of their interactions with coach and bus drivers will be as important as physical accessibility. Since March, it has been a mandatory requirement for drivers of local and scheduled buses to complete disability awareness training, and we are working with the industry and enforcement bodies to ensure that that requirement is implemented effectively. As I said, we are working on guidance for this training and will certainly look at what the Oxford Tube is doing.

[Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Con)]

My Lords, although this important work is being carried out, many disabled people rely on community transport schemes. What measures are the Government taking to protect those schemes from the draconian new EU regulations?

[Baroness Sugg]

I agree with my noble friend that community transport operators provide vital services. We are interpreting the exemptions to the EU regulations as widely as legally permissible within the existing legal framework so that as many community transport organisations and operators as possible can continue to provide their important services. There was a recent debate on this matter in the other place, and my honourable friend the Roads Minister has addressed this issue in detail. I will pass on a copy of his letter to my noble friend and place a copy in the Library.