In the UK, 1,300 people a month search the keyword ‘wheelchair accessible taxi’ on Google, according to data found using online visibility and marketing tool SEM Rush; while 390 people a month search ‘taxis with wheelchair access near me.’ Highlighting the need for wheelchair accessible taxis across the UK.
To investigate Taxi2Airport.com analysed new data released by Gov.uk to find out which cities in England have the most – and least – wheelchair accessible taxis per 1,000 people. To highlight how much work is needed in bettering disabled-friendly transport.
After all, in an article posted by The Independent, it was revealed four in five disabled people feel anxious about using public transport. And with 13.9 million disabled people in the UK (figures from Scope.org.uk), it is a topic that deserves to be taken seriously.
THE RESULTS:
Top 10 cities in England with the most wheelchair accessible taxis per 1,000 people:
Liverpool (2.9)
Coventry (2.3)
London (2.3)
Worcester (2.0)
Manchester (2.0)
Norwich (1.5)
Newcastle upon Tyne (1.5)
Sheffield (1.4)
Plymouth (1.3)
Preston (1.3)
Liverpool is the city with the most wheelchair accessible taxis per 1,000 people. In total, there are 1,426 wheelchair accessible taxis in this city, which equates to 2.9 per 1,000 people.
Next is Coventry. In Coventry there are 859 wheelchair accessible taxis, which equates to 2.3 per 1,000 people.
Followed by London. In London there are 20,136 wheelchair accessible taxis, which equates to 2.3 per 1,000 people.
Top 10 cities in England with the least wheelchair accessible taxis per 1,000 people:
Lincoln (0.3)
Southampton (0.3)
Canterbury (0.2)
York (0.2)
Gloucester (0.1)
County Durham (0.1)
Lancaster (0.1)
Bath (and North East Somerset) (0.1)
Lichfield (0.1)
Wakefield (01)
Taxi2Airport.com also found:
- 58% of all taxis were wheelchair accessible in 2019.
- The number of authorities requiring disability awareness training for taxi drivers has increased from 41% to 44%.
- 66% of authorities require all or part of the taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible, an increase from 65%.
HOWEVER, although data from Gov.uk shows some progress, there is work still to be done:
34% of authorities do NOT require all or part of the taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible.
Source: https://www.taxi2airport.com/en
