Taxi Driver Online

Not many people would have heard of the ECMT but it would appear that a new initiative in respect of wheelchair access has been set up to established the framework for a european wide model which will have the effect of including every vehicle manufacturer and excluding no one.

The European Taxi market is serviced by 99.9% of saloon type vehicle manufacturers and it is no surprise that the participating countries which includes all EC countries have come down in favour of no exclusivity of any particular type of manufacturer. That means the recommendations are for mixed fleets. This recommendation is unlikely to alter and we can assume that the UK Government will probably eventually announce guide lines to that effect.

The links can be viewed below.

I haven't read the details fully but those are my initial observations.
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http://www.iru.org/index/en_events2007_acesstaxi

http://www.cemt.org/events/PressReleases/2007Taxi.pdf

http://www.cemt.org/topics/handicaps/TaxiSummary.pdf

The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) is an intergovernmental organisation established by a Protocol signed in Brussels on 17 October 1953. It comprises the Ministers of Transport of 44 full Member countries:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, FRY Macedonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

There are seven Associate member countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States) and one Observer country (Morocco).

The ECMT is a forum in which Ministers responsible for transport, and more specifically inland transport, can co-operate on policy. Within this forum, Ministers can openly discuss current problems and agree upon joint approaches aimed at improving the use and ensuring the rational development of European transport systems.

At present, ECMT has a dual role. On one hand it helps to create an integrated transport system throughout the enlarged Europe that is economically efficient and meets environmental and safety standards. In order to achieve this, ECMT assists in building bridges between the European Union and the rest of the European continent at a political level. On the other hand, ECMT also develops reflections on long-term trends in the transport sector and, more specifically, studies the implications of globalisation on transport.

In January 2004, the ECMT and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) brought together their transport research capabilities by establishing the Joint Transport Research Centre. The Centre conducts co-operative research programmes that address all modes of inland transport and their intermodal linkages to support policy-making throughout member countries.

Ministers at their Dublin Council in May 2006 agreed a major reform of ECMT designed to transform the organisation into a more global body covering all modes of transport. This new international transport Forum will aim to attract greater attention to transport policy issues, and will hold one major annual event involving Ministers and key sectoral actors on themes of strategic importance. 2007 is a transitional year for the setting up of the Forum. The new structure will be fully operational as of 2008. Further information about the ECMT is available on Internet at the following address: http://www.cemt.org

© ECMT 2007 – ECMT Publications are distributed by: OECD Publishing,
2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France

LTI won't like this one? lol

The ECMT-IRU recommendations for taxi vehicle accessibility are based on two design levels:

Type One: Wheelchair Accessible Taxis: accessible vehicles capable of carrying the majority, but not all, passengers who travel in their wheelchair as well as people with other disabilities.

Type Two: Standard Accessible Taxis: vehicles with features designed to make use by disabled people easier, but which would only be able to carry a wheelchair user who can transfer to a taxi seat.

It is recommended that fleets of taxis used for regular services should be composed of a combination of these two types of vehicle.

The proportion of each type within the taxi park is likely to vary from place to place, both within and between countries. This is a matter for decision by national and local governments.
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It will be interesting to see whether the UK Goverment leaves things as they are or if they have the balls to put a quota on the number of saloon vehicles with swivel chairs that are allowed to ply for hire as Taxis?

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Well it seems LTI have shot themselves in the foot by admitting that the tx4 does not meet the criteria for being able to carry a standard wheelchair, without some difficulty
The only way manufactures will be able to build a fully wheelchair accessible taxi is to do away with the turning circle, and start the lay out with a wheelchair and build around it