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New DfT data shows SEVEN English licensing authorities have ZERO wheelchair-accessible taxis or PHVs
- Perry Richardson
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Seven licensing authorities in England had no wheelchair-accessible taxis or private hire vehicles licensed as of 1 April 2026, according to the latest Department for Transport figures.
The finding means none of the vehicles licensed by those authorities was recorded as capable of carrying a passenger seated in a wheelchair. Those authorities included Derbyshire Dales, North East Derbyshire, Rutland, Blaby, Epping Forest, Elmbridge and West Devon licensed where 1,113 vehicles was between them, but none was wheelchair accessible.
Across England, approximately 34,500 of the 342,300 licensed taxis and PHVs were wheelchair accessible. The accessible fleet fell by 4% from 2024, despite the total licensed vehicle population increasing by 9%.
Wheelchair-accessible vehicles consequently accounted for just 10% of the combined fleet. The national figure hides a wide division between taxis and private hire vehicles.
Around 28,000 taxis were wheelchair accessible, equivalent to 54% of the taxi fleet. However, that number fell by 8% between 2024 and 2026, against a 7% reduction in taxis overall.
The wheelchair-accessible PHV fleet grew by 15% to approximately 6,400 vehicles. That increase came as total PHV numbers rose by 13% to 290,000, leaving only 2% of private hire vehicles wheelchair accessible.
The rapid expansion of the wider PHV market has therefore produced relatively little change in its accessibility rate. For passengers who need to travel in their wheelchair, much of the growth in licensed private hire capacity may not provide a suitable vehicle.
The position differs considerably between licensing areas. Worcester recorded the highest proportion of wheelchair-accessible taxis and PHVs, at 71.3% of its combined licensed fleet.
There were also 57 authorities where every licensed taxi was wheelchair accessible, up from 52 in 2024. London’s entire taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible under Transport for London’s vehicle licensing requirements.
However, a fully accessible taxi fleet does not mean every licensed vehicle in an area is accessible. PHVs can considerably outnumber taxis, and only a small share of the national private hire fleet is designed to carry wheelchair users.
The seven-authority figure should also be treated as a measure of licensed vehicles rather than a complete record of vehicles working in each area. Cross-border working means a wheelchair-accessible vehicle licensed elsewhere could undertake a pre-booked journey in an authority with no locally licensed WAVs.
That possibility does not guarantee availability. Passengers may still depend on a vehicle travelling from another district, potentially increasing waiting times, journey costs and the risk that no suitable vehicle is available when required.
Accessibility policies have become more common. The proportion of licensing authorities requiring disability awareness training rose from 67% to 76% for taxi drivers and from 65% to 74% for PHV drivers between 2024 and 2026.
The DfT also reported that 98% of authorities maintained a list of wheelchair-accessible taxis, while 94% maintained an equivalent PHV list. Section 167 of the Equality Act 2010 requires licensing authorities to maintain and publish lists of designated wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
The national figures show movement in opposite directions. More authorities now have fully accessible taxi fleets and more require disability awareness training, but seven still licence no wheelchair-accessible vehicle of either type. At the same time, England’s overall accessible fleet is shrinking while the wider licensed fleet grows.
