Overview

In theory all London 'black cabs', i.e. the traditional taxi which can be hailed in the street, are wheelchair accessible and wheelchair-friendly. The reality, however, does not live up to this rosy picture painted by London's transport authority TfL (Transport for London). I have had numerous difficulties with black cabs, and I avoid using them whenever possible.

Transport & Parking

N/A

Access

Every London black cab is equipped with a wheelchair ramp. This sounds like great news. The reality is different. For most cabs: (1) The ramps are terribly flimsy. (2) They are too short, with the result that when deployed on most kerbs they are far too steep to be either safe or comfortable. (3) There is too little headroom to enter the taxi comfortably while seated in your wheelchair. (4) It can take a long time to deploy the ramp - they get stuck, and drivers often mislay the key needed to unlock the ramp for deployment. (5) Once you're inside the cab, there isn't room to turn around, so inevitably you emerge from the cab backwards down a very steep slope, which can be terrifying and is certainly not safe, even when a well-meaning cab driver is guiding you with his hands on the wheelchair handles. On one occasion a driver yanked me roughly down the ramp, with the result that my wheelchair (with me in it) fell off the ramp sideways. Luckily I wasn't injured and my wheelchair wasn't damaged, but it could have turned out very differently. NB there is one type of London black cab which offers a big improvement on the above problems, it's the 'Vista Comfort Plus' model. It has a long ramp, which is not steep, it has enough headroom and is more spacious inside. It is a MUCH more wheelchair-friendly experience. The longer ramp gives a much less steep ride into the cab and feels much safer. Unfortunately there are not many of this type of cab on the roads in London.

Toilets

Unsurprisingly, London taxis aren't equipped with toilets.

Staff

I have had mixed experiences with London cabbies, and these experiences have been mainly negative and unpleasant. Some of them refuse to stop to pick up a wheelchair user. Some are delightfully friendly and helpful. Some ask intrusive questions about my reason for using a wheelchair. Some cabbies start the meter the moment you hail them, and then take a very long time to find the key to unlock and deploy the ramp, which means that you are being charged extra for being a wheelchair user, which is illegal (contravening Section 165 of the Equality Act 2010) - and prosecutions have been successfully brought against black-cab drivers for this. Some treat me as if I'm an imbecile. Some grab my wheelchair and try to give intrusive and unwanted help, pushing or pulling or yanking the wheelchair without asking first whether help is needed.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I hate using black cabs. I hate the dangerously steep and flimsy ramps, the risk of getting an unfriendly driver, or a driver who wants to rip me off by starting the meter too early. I hate having to crick my neck because there isn't enough headroom to get into the taxi. I hate having taxi drivers refuse to stop to pick me up in the street. I hate leaving a taxi backwards down a steep ramp. I hate being treated as an imbecile by taxi drivers. I hate it when taxi drivers push/pull/yank my wheelchair without having asked first whether I need any help - this is horribly intrusive. If I can possibly avoid taking a taxi I will, even if the alternative is a long and tedious bus journey, or a tiring self-propel to my next destination.