Taxis & occupied active wheelchair questions

mtwam62
mtwam62 Online Community Member Posts: 5 Listener
edited May 28 in Everyday life

i am going to need a wav uber or black taxi for work as am transitioning to a wheelchair. I have access to work & am applying for a taxi card for journeys that are not work related. My wheelchair will be an active one with powerwheels. My question is am I going to need a headrest or are taxi drivers normally ok with you using the vehicle seatbelt. I do not have tie down addition to chair but can i presume that the castors be used to tie down plus having the wheel break on. My main concern is that it might be a bit arbitrary in whether I will be accepted in taxis as i would be occupying the chair during transit as my ability to trasfer to seating would be extremely limited

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Comments

  • Holly_Scope
    Holly_Scope Posts: 2,455 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Hi @mtwam62 really sorry but this isn't my area of expertise but I've had a little look at the website for the uberACCESS car which had some helpful information. You can contact your driver ahead of them arriving too, although this can only be done once to ride has been booked unfortunately. Just wondering if there's an alternative local firm that you could speak to ahead of having to book and pay for the taxi maybe as another option?

  • wobblyone
    wobblyone Online Community Member Posts: 133 Contributor
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/134954/taxis-occupied-active-wheelchair-questions

    Hi, I previously had an app for black cabs that provided a lot of detail about this but I cannot find it.

    I found another similar service called Gett with their own dedicated app. Since black cabs are Wheel chair accessible they have flip up seats and I assume a head rest and some way of securing wheels.

    have a look at this Gett they say they have a priority service.

  • wobblyone
    wobblyone Online Community Member Posts: 133 Contributor

    Sorry I haven’t posted for a while so forgot how to add a link for Gett. I’ve never used it but it sounds promising.

    I have used UberAccess with a small mobility scooter so didn’t need restraints but it’s a hit and miss as some are not WAV and you might need to transfer. However if you’re doing regular journeys you might get a regular driver.

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  • mtwam62
    mtwam62 Online Community Member Posts: 5 Listener

    Thank you everyone for your comments. I have bought a head rest just in case. Approx 6 weeks to delivery of chair. I am excited as will be able to go to work & not feel like a zombie dragging myself around on crutches. PLUS i will be able to go to the park & other places. I have always been a bit of an extrovert so I am taking this opportunity change, get out there & live my life. Well that’s the plan…. 😂

  • Holly_Scope
    Holly_Scope Posts: 2,455 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Awww good! That's really exciting. Do you mind if I ask what the new job is? Please keep us updated on how you're getting on if you're happy to. Nice to hear some good news 😊

  • mtwam62
    mtwam62 Online Community Member Posts: 5 Listener

    Hi Holly, 

    I work as a commissioning officer for drug & alcohol treatment in a local authority, so basically working with community providers to make services better & more responsive. 

    I have been doing this for a while but as my mobility got worse I work from home a lot. I have a very good manager who has put in place a good range of reasonable adjustments. Being in the office was too high a falls risk so with chair this will change. Working from home definitely has its advantages as in can take proper time out when my condition fluctuates. HKPP is strange & has to be managed by diet, keeping stress at bay and many other triggers. So being in office will still be challenging but manageable. 

    Thank you for your welcome & support. It is very useful to have an environment that encourages healthy dialogue without judgement or politics. 

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