Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the rights of disabled travellers are being met by transport companies; and what penalties are in place for transport providers who do not meet their obligations to disabled travellers.

The Department works with representative organisations and regulators to ensure the rights of disabled people are understood and observed, with regulators generally responsible for enforcement, rather than the Department directly.

Transport providers which fail to meet legal standards face a range of sanctions. These vary from fines of up to £1,000 for taxi and private hire drivers convicted of refusing a disabled person carriage, to licence restrictions or revocations for bus and coach operators found to have breached accessibility requirements.

Maritime operators, and individuals with responsibility for the operation for the vessel, face a range of sanctions depending on the severity of the legislative breach. This includes cautions, improvement notices, and notifications of concern. For the most serious breaches, criminal proceedings may be enacted, which may result in unlimited fines. For airports and airlines, enforcement options may include improvement plans, formal undertakings and ultimately court action if they fail to meet satisfactory standards.