All posts by Quingo Scooters

Public Transport

Taking your Quingo on the Train – Part 1

In the second of a series of articles about accessible public transport, today the Quingo team present our guide to trains.

Getting out and about

You already know how easy it is to get out and about on your Quingo, but did you know that more and more people with limited mobility are now travelling by train?

The government’s ‘Railways for All’ strategy came into effect in 1998 and has already gone some way to improving the rail travel experience. This means it’s now easier than ever to take your Quingo on a train and by 2020, the government aims to have a totally accessible rail fleet.

The regulations regarding travelling by train with your Quingo vary, so it’s important to check with your train company for full information. The National Rail website has a comprehensive list of all Train Operators.

Passenger Assistance

By far the easiest way to plan your journey is to make use of the Passenger Assistance scheme. This free service is provided by train companies to anyone who needs help with any part of their journey.

Staff can help you to plan your journey, book your tickets, make reservations and assist you at the station and when boarding trains. They will make sure that you have the assistance you need at each point in your journey, even if this involves multiple train companies.

Bookings should be made at least 24 hours in advance, this gives the train company time to provide you with the best possible experience on the day.

To book, you need to contact the train company you are using for the first leg of your journey. You can find contact details on the National Rail website, or if you prefer, you can call National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 and an operator will connect you to the Passenger Assistance team for your route.

Coming up

It’s not always possible or desirable to make a booking in advance. Look out for our next post, which provides tips on how to plan and book your journey yourself.

Finding out more

We want you to have the best possible experience when using your Quingo and hope you have found this blog post useful.

If you have any questions about your Quingo, please complete the enquiry form and one of our friendly and knowledgeable team will get back to you. Alternatively you can call our customer service line on 01582 430 900.

Wellbeing

Exercises you can do on your Quingo

The Quingo team want to help you to improve your mobility and overall wellbeing whilst helping you to keep active and get out and about. With this in mind we want to highlight some gentle and effective exercises you can do whilst seated on your Quingo.*

Quingo scooters offer supreme comfort

As a Quingo scooter user, you’re already sitting in the best anatomical position which will help to prevent aches and pains from sitting down too long. If you also want to keep active while on your scooter here are some gentle exercises to help improve circulation and reduce stiffness.


Whilst the Quingo team would always advise that you check with your G.P. before undertaking any form of exercise, having limited mobility may not necessarily mean that exercise is not for you. It just means that you have to make sure you choose an exercise routine that’s right for your own level of mobility and fitness.

Start slowly and increase your activity level little by little. You’ll soon start to reap the benefits.

A few exercises you can do whilst seated on your Quingo

Here are a few quick and gentle exercises you can perform on your Quingo:

  • Write the Alphabet with Your Toes: This is an extremely effective exercise. Using your feet, point your toes and write out each letter of the alphabet. Do one foot at a time then repeat with the other. The different shapes this exercise forces you to make with your toes makes you stimulate ankle motion in every direction. This is a great way to get the blood flowing and to keep your feet warm.
  • Rotate Your Feet: This simple ankle exercise will help reduce stiffness in your ankles after long journeys. Rotate your foot clockwise for 15 seconds, then anti-clockwise for another 15 seconds.
  • Foot Pumps: This exercise will work really well with your adaptive footplates. Place your feet flat on the footplates. Keeping your heels on the footplates, point your toes up as far as you can. Then keep your toes on the footplates and raise your heels. Repeat five times.
  • Neck Roll: This exercise improves circulation in your upper body. Gently drop your ear to your shoulder then roll your head around to the other shoulder. Repeat 10 times.
  • Shoulder Roll: Gently roll your shoulders forward five times, then roll them backwards five times.

Stay Active

Staying active can help to reduce stiffness in muscles and can go a long way towards improving blood circulation, which will also help you to keep warm. Just a few minutes exercise a day can make a noticeable difference to your overall wellbeing.

*Please do not attempt any of these exercises whilst driving your Quingo. Make sure the engine is turned off, the key is removed, and that you have enough room to do the exercises without coming into contact with anything around you.

Public Transport

Taking Your Quingo on the Bus

In the first of a series of articles about accessible public transport, today the Quingo scooter team present our guide to buses.

Freedom and independence

We know our customers are delighted that their Quingo gives them the freedom to travel as they please, whether this means visiting friends or family, doing their daily shop or simply going out for some fresh air.

However, for longer journeys involving public transport, there are often a few more things to consider.

Travelling by bus with your Quingo 5 wheel scooter

The regulations regarding travelling by bus with a mobility scooter vary so it’s important to check with your bus company for full information.

According to the Research Institute for Consumer Affairs (RICA), a charity whose information is cited by the Department for Transport, if you and your scooter meet certain criteria you may be able to take it on low-floor buses. You can find more details on the requirements below:Quingo Scooters

What are the requirements?

  • Your scooter must be Class 2 type and meet certain size limits. Your bus company must also be running a scooter permit scheme, such as the one developed by the Confederation for Passenger Transport (CPT) or the one run by Transport for London (TfL).
  • Your bus company will need you to demonstrate that you are able to manoeuvre your scooter on and off the bus safely and that you can reverse into the wheelchair space. They should offer you training and can also advise which local routes you can travel on.
  • Bus companies who are signed up to the CPT scheme will issue credit-card sized permits which show that you are allowed to travel with your scooter. Make sure you have this to hand when ready to board the bus, so you can show it to the driver to highlight that you’re permitted to bring your Quingo on board.
  • If you’re not sure whether or not your local bus company has a permit scheme, you can check The Rica website which contains a handy list of bus companies who have signed up. If yours isn’t on the list try asking them about the CPT scheme as they may be happy to accept a permit that’s been given to you by a different operator.

Finding out more

These are the main points to consider if you’d like to take your Quingo on a bus. We’d advise that you contact your bus company to find out everything you need to know. It is also recommended that scooter users stay seated during transit. We‘d also encourage you not to dismiss bus travel with your scooter out of hand, it varies from region to region and company to company, but we encourage you to make the most of your travel experience on your Quingo 5 wheel scooter.

Quingo Scooters
We want to get you out and about on your Quingo

 

If you have any questions about your Quingo, please complete the enquiry form and one of our friendly and knowledgeable team will get back to you. Alternatively you can call our customer service line on 01582 430 900.

Maintenance

A guide for charging and getting the best performance out of your Quingo’s batteries

The Quingo team does all it can to ensure that our customers have the best possible scooter experience. Our goal is to help people regain their independence through greater mobility with all the advantages of our unique 5 wheel scooters.

Once you’ve purchased your Quingo, there are a number of simple things you can do to ensure that it remains in top condition.

Looking after your Quingo

Today, the Quingo team would like to highlight a few things about looking after your scooter’s batteries, protecting their lifespan and ensuring you get the most out of them.

Charging your Quingo batteries

Batteries are an expensive item to replace so it is a good idea to look after them and charge them regularly and follow the correct procedure. You should;

  • Place your Quingo in an area that is dry and well ventilated and make sure that there is a power point nearby.
  • Switch your vehicle off and remove the key when charging.
  • Turn off the mains switch. Never connect or disconnect the charger with the mains on.
  • Make sure that the pins are lined up when connecting the charger plug to the scooters charging socket. They should connect easily – don’t try and force them.
  • After charging: Switch off the mains and remove the battery connector when fully charged. Don’t leave the charger plugged in with the power off as this will discharge your battery.
    Quingo Scooters

Your batteries are the lifeblood of your vehicle but have no guaranteed life span. Factors that can affect performance are:

  • Weight of rider (a heavy rider reduces range)
  • Type of terrain the vehicle is used (hilly areas reduce range)
  • Outside temperature (low temperature reduces range)
  • Age of batteries (maximum range shorten as they age)
  • Correct charging (incorrect charging reduces battery life 50%)
  • Tyre pressures (low pressures reduces range and battery life)

With this is in mind, here are a few points to bear in mind for maximising the life of your batteries and getting the best range possible.

  • Carry only essential items with you on your scooter, the less load on the motor and batteries the further you can travel.
  • Where possible stick to flat, hard surfaces and avoid any unnecessary hills and kerbs.
  • Using your scooter in the winter will impact on its range, bear this in mind before you set out on longer journeys.
  • Consider replacing your batteries when you notice they no longer perform as you would wish. For some this may be after 12 months of regular use, for others it maybe several years.
  • Regularly check that your tyre pressure is set correctly according to your scooters handbook.

In addition:

  • Charge your Quingo overnight (at least 8-12 hours- depending on model) the day before you wish to use it.
  • If you are using it daily, put the vehicle back on charge even if you have only travelled a short distance.
  • When unused you should still recharge your batteries at least every 2-3 weeks to keep them in good condition.
  • Don’t partially charge the batteries – let the charger complete its cycle (as a guide this would be overnight or at least 8-12 hours –depending on model).
    Quingo Scooters
  • If you don’t intend to use your vehicle for longer periods of time (i.e. 3 months or more), you should charge the batteries fully, then remove the batteries from the vehicle and store them in a dry area. Never remove them unless they are fully charged. When you return them to the vehicle, top them up before use.
  • Don’t charge your Quingo in the open since it may rain and the battery charger is not waterproof.

You can find out more about your particular Quingo’s charging procedure in the handbook that was supplied with it, or we have written guides on how to correctly charge your Quingo Air, Compact or Powerbase and how to correctly charge your Quingo Flyte, Plus, Classic and Vitess 2.

If you have any additional questions you can call Customer Services on 01582 430 900.

News

Quingo proud to sponsor award at the Silver Travel Awards

The Quingo team are proud to announce that we will be sponsoring the Best Limited Mobility/Accessible Travel Provider category at the first annual Silver Travel Awards ceremony.

The Silver Travel Awards

The event will be launched by Silver Travel Advisor, a website run by travel industry professionals which targets the mature travel market.

Quingo Scooters

The website is a free resource where members can contribute to impartial news, travel advice and tips, all written exclusively by and for mature travellers.

Jennie Bond, the BBC’s former Royal Correspondent will host the event which takes place on 4th June 2015 at London’s Natural History Museum.

A ‘best of the best’ award will be judged by a panel of mature celebrities and senior figures from the travel industry, who will consider the best entries in each of the categories before selecting an overall winner.

How do I vote?

Voting for the Awards opened in January and will close on 31st March. To place a vote you can visit the Silver Travel Advisor website and click ‘Vote Now’.

Voters will be asked to fill in an online form and can vote in one, several or all categories. Votes will be counted in April resulting in a shortlist for each category. The winner for each award will be chosen at the event on 4th June.

Some of the companies voted for so far in the Quingo-sponsored category include Wings on Wheels, Qantas Airlines, Gatwick Airport, Warners and CMV.

Quingo is proud to sponsor the award which helps to encourage those with limited mobility to travel more widely.

Quingo Scooters

Been on any interesting trips recently?

We always love to hear stories from you about any trips you’ve been on with your Quingo, whether in the UK or abroad.

If you would like to get in touch with your pictures and comments please send them to [email protected]  and we will post them on our blog.