Bus and Coach Accessibility Test
- Which Buses and Coaches are affected?
- What is a bus and what is a coach as far as the accessibility regulations are concerned.
- What documentation does a PSV need to prove that it complies ?
- Does the certificate show whether the PSV complies with either wheelchair accessibility, general accessibility or both?
- Who is responsible for ensuring a vehicle has an accessibility certificate?
- What are the fees for accessibility type approval and the accessibility certificate inspection?
- What is the fee for a duplicate certificate?
- How do manufacturers and operators apply for an accessibility certificate?
- How can manufacturers apply for accessibility type approval and how does it work?
- What happens if the certifying officer decides after examining the vehicle that the appropriate accessibility requirements are not complied with?
- How long does the Accessibility certificate or Accessibility Certificate of Conformity last?
Certain Buses and Coaches are now required to have:
- accessibility features for wheelchair users such as boarding lifts and ramps, wheelchair spaces, wheelchair restraints, adequate areas of manoeuvrability for wheelchair passengers;
- and / or,
- general accessibility features for less able passengers such as priority seats, non sloping and step-less gangways, and colour contrasting stanchions steps and gangways for passengers with poor eyesight.
Which Buses and Coaches are affected?
This applies to those buses and coaches:
- which are authorised to carry more than 22 passengers;
- which are used for carrying passengers at separate fares on local or scheduled services; and,
- first used from 31 December 2000.
Note : Currently only buses with a design weight over 7500kg are required to have provisions for wheelchair passengers. From 1 January 2005 new buses below this weight and new coaches will also have to meet this requirement.
What is a bus and what is a coach as far as the accessibility regulations are concerned.
A bus is PSV designed for seated and standing passengers and has a capacity of more than 22 passengers. A coach is a PSV designed for seated passengers only and has a capacity of more than 22 passengers.
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What documentation does a PSV need to prove that it complies ?
A PSV Accessibility Certificate (PSVA 2) issued by a certifying officer or a PSV Certificate of Conformity (PSVA 5) issued by PSV section.
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Does the certificate show whether the PSV complies with either wheelchair accessibility, general accessibility or both?
The certificate shows the appropriate schedule number referred to in the regulations which indicates the level of compliance:
- Schedule 1 = wheelchair accessibility on buses and coaches,
- Schedule 2 = general accessibility on buses
- Schedule 3 = general accessibility on coaches
Examples:
- A bus which complies with both wheelchair and general accessibility requirements will have an accessibility certificate or certificate of conformity showing schedules 1 and 2.
- A coach which complies with wheelchair and general accessibility will have a certificate showing schedules 1 and 3.
- A coach which complies only with general accessibility requirements will have a certificate showing schedule 3.
These schedule numbers will be hand written on the certificate by the certifying officer.
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Who is responsible for ensuring a vehicle has an accessibility certificate?
It is up to the manufacturer / operator to decide whether a vehicle requires an accessibility certificate because only they know ultimately whether the vehicle falls within the scope of the regulations. Basically any operator using a vehicle which falls within the scope of the regulations without an accessibility certificate is contravening the regulations.
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What are the fees for accessibility type approval and the accessibility certificate inspection?
Fees differ depending of whether you go for either the wheelchair or general accessibility certificate of both. All fees are listed in Lorry and Bus Test Fees.
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What is the fee for a duplicate certificate?
The fee for a duplicate accessibility certificate or accessibility certificate of conformity is £10.
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How do manufacturers and operators apply for an accessibility certificate?
The COIF application form (Application for a Certificate of Initial Fitness (PSV 417)) has been revised to include an application for an accessibility certificate as well as a COIF. This is so that both COIF and accessibility inspections can be applied for at the same time using the same form.
For those buses and coaches which have already been certified (or where the COIF applicant has not applied on the PSV 417) a separate application form, Application for a PSV Accessibility Certificate (PSVA1) , has been introduced. This (PSVA 1) form has been designed to double up as a notifiable alteration form to avoid the need for the applicant to submit a Details of Notifable Alterations made to a Public Service Vehicle (VTP 5) on an already certified vehicle.
On both forms there will be spaces for the applicant to indicate whether wheelchair accessibility or general accessibility or both is required.
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How can manufacturers apply for accessibility type approval and how does it work?
The accessibility type approval system operates along similar lines to the type certification system. A new type approval application form (PSVA 4), certificate of conformity (PSVA 5) and sample declaration (PSVA 6) have been introduced.
When type approval has been agreed with the manufacturer they will be permitted to send in declarations of conformity for each vehicle together with a fee of £15 for an accessibility certificate of conformity. This is much the same as type certification.
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What happens if the certifying officer decides after examining the vehicle that the appropriate accessibility requirements are not complied with?
The certifying officer issues a form PSVA 3 listing the modifications required before an accessibility certificate can be issued.
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How long does the Accessibility certificate or Accessibility Certificate of Conformity last?
This is the same as a COIF or a type certified conformity certificate. It lasts for the life of the vehicle.
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Page last updated: 04/06/2008