House of Lords reject mandatory taxi accessibility proposals

The House of Lords has voted down a proposed amendment that would have required all taxis in England to meet minimum accessibility standards within three years, dealing a setback to campaigners seeking stronger protections for disabled passengers.

Amendment 268 to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill aimed to compel the government to implement long-standing but unused provisions of the Equality Act 2010. These provisions would allow ministers to introduce national minimum accessibility requirements for taxis, an area where standards currently vary significantly between local authorities.

Supporters of the amendment argued that the measure was necessary to address persistent inequalities in transport access. They highlighted that, despite existing legal powers, successive governments have failed to fully enact nationwide accessibility standards, leaving many disabled passengers unable to rely on taxis for safe and dignified travel.

The amendment would have required any national taxi standards introduced under the Bill to include these accessibility requirements and set a three-year deadline for compliance.

However, peers rejected the proposal by 117 votes to 46.

Opponents did not dispute the importance of accessibility but were understood to favour a more flexible approach, allowing the government discretion over how and when to introduce such standards. Concerns were also raised about the potential financial burden on taxi operators and local licensing authorities.

The defeat means the Bill will proceed without a binding requirement to enforce nationwide accessibility standards, leaving the issue to future policy decisions rather than embedding it directly in legislation.