Driver revising with a smartphone and an open handbook in the front seat of a car parked on a London street, with a black cab behind

SERU study notes

Equality & Disability (Taxi)

The Equality Act and protected characteristics, assisting passengers, wheelchair users, assistance dogs and the medical exemptions, and what happens after a refusal.

What this topic covers

The Equality Act and protected characteristics, assisting passengers, wheelchair users, assistance dogs and the medical exemptions, and what happens after a refusal. The full SERU Revision: PHV & Taxi app contains 34 questions on this topic, each referenced to its section of the TfL handbook.

Worked examples

Here are a few practice questions from this topic. Try answering each before reading the explanation.

Example 1

Before you start work, you find that your taxi's wheelchair ramp does not work. What does this mean?

A. Your taxi is unfit to use until the ramp is fixed ✓ correct
B. You can work, but must turn away wheelchair users
C. You can keep working until your next inspection
D. You can work if you warn passengers before they get in

Explanation: Under the handbook, a taxi's wheelchair ramps must be ready to use and working properly whenever you work, and if they are not, the taxi is unfit. Working on while turning away wheelchair users, working until the next inspection, or working after warning passengers all treat a broken ramp as acceptable, which the handbook does not allow. (Taxi Handbook s3: Assisting passengers)

Example 2

Aisha hails your taxi. She has no disability you can see, but she says she has a health condition. She asks you to drive gently and to tell her when you arrive. What should you do?

A. Accept what she says and help in the way she asks ✓ correct
B. Ask her to show proof of her condition before helping
C. Explain that extra help is meant for wheelchair users
D. Wait to help until her condition becomes obvious

Explanation: Not every disability can be seen, so do not assume a passenger has no disability, or only a minor one, because you cannot see it. Listen to what she asks you to do. Asking for proof, keeping help for wheelchair users, or waiting until her condition is obvious all judge her by what you can see, which the handbook warns against. (Taxi Handbook s3: Non-visible disabilities)

Example 3

Which of these is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, as listed in the handbook?

A. Religion or belief ✓ correct
B. Amount of income earned
C. Type of job or trade
D. Political party membership

Explanation: Religion or belief is one of the nine protected characteristics listed in the handbook. A person's income, their job and the political party they support are not on that list, although you should still treat every passenger in a professional and respectful way. (Taxi Handbook s3: Equality Act)

Example 4

Since the 2022 changes to the Equality Act, which taxi drivers have duties to carry disabled passengers and give them mobility assistance?

A. Any taxi driver who knows a passenger is disabled and may need help ✓ correct
B. Drivers of designated taxis, but not other taxi drivers
C. Drivers who have had disability training, but not others
D. Drivers of pre-booked taxis, but not taxis hailed in the street

Explanation: Since 2022, section 164A has placed these duties on taxi drivers generally, not just on drivers whose taxis are designated as wheelchair accessible, once the driver knows the passenger is disabled and may need mobility assistance. There is one carve-out: where the passenger is in a wheelchair and the taxi is designated (as every London taxi is), section 165 applies instead and sets out matching duties to carry and assist. A driver who holds a TfL exemption certificate is excused only from giving mobility assistance; the duty to carry remains. The duties do not depend on the taxi being designated, on the driver's training or on how the taxi was hired, so each option that limits them to one group of drivers is wrong. (Taxi Handbook s3: Providing mobility assistance / Taxi Handbook s3: Wheelchair users / Equality Act 2010 s164A / Equality Act 2010 s165 / Equality Act 2010 s166)

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More SERU study notes

Get all 34 questions on this topic in the SERU Revision: PHV & Taxi app.