Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending The Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023 to apply to vehicles which have 16 or more seats, rather than carry 16 or more passengers.

The Accessible Information Regulations (AIR) 2023 were introduced to support disabled people in particular to make the journeys important to them, but accessible information is valued by a wide range of passengers.

The Department considered the scope of the Regulations carefully during their development, including through a public consultation, seeking to balance the benefits of improved accessibility with the practical and financial implications for operators—particularly those using smaller vehicles. The wording selected, including the focus on total vehicle capacity was chosen for consistency with the well-established Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000, albeit with a lower threshold in order to allow more passengers to benefit from audible and visible information.

I recognise the costs involved in achieving AIR compliance and the impact on smaller operators in particular and that is why the Department has made a £4.65 million grant available to operators with fleets of 20 vehicles or fewer to help cover the cost of installing the necessary equipment.