Category Archives: Public Transport

Attractions, Days Out, Public Transport, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Accessible Days Out: Edinburgh Bus Tours

Quingo Scooters encourages users to get out and about, discovering some different days out in the best cultural hotspots. In our series of articles, we shed light on various accessible days out for you to enjoy on your mobility scooter.

Today we head to the North of the UK, to the Scottish capital. A beautiful city, Edinburgh is known for its historical attractions and architectural gems, making it one of the UK’s top tourist destinations. See everything it has to offer by having a day out on one of the Edinburgh Bus Tours.

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Edinburgh Bus Tours

Since they were established in the 1920s, the Edinburgh Bus Tours have become Scotland’s third most popular paid-for attraction. They’re operated by Lothian Buses and depending on the tour you take, you can see some of Edinburgh’s best sites. This includes Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Grassmarket, Calton Hill and the Palace of Holyrood House, which is the official residence of the Scottish monarch.

There are three main tours – the Edinburgh Bus Tour, City Sightseeing Tour and Majestic Tour. They all visit some of the same attractions e.g. the Palace of Holyrood, but there are some variations e.g. the City Sightseeing Tour doesn’t stop at the Scottish Parliament, but the other two do. The Edinburgh Bus Tour offers a live guide in English, but the others provide multi-language commentary. Meanwhile, the City Sightseeing Tour is really good for kids, as it gives Horrible Histories commentaries!

The tours last roughly one hour and operate all year round, although the City Sightseeing is closed on Christmas Day. The trips depart every 15, 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the tour and time of year. Visit the tours’ pages on the Edinburgh Bus Tours website to learn their departure times, depending on the day and time of year. An adult ticket for each tour costs £15, but senior tickets (aged 60+) are £14, with students paying the same, while children’s tickets (aged five to 15) come in at £7.50.

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Accessibility

The main Edinburgh Bus Tours are all suitable for mobility scooter users. The trips all depart from the interchange at Waverly Bridge, which is based right next to Edinburgh Waverly train station, making this location easy to find. You can also join the tours at any stop on their respective routes. You should consult the ‘finding us’ page on the Edinburgh Bus Tours website to help plan your trip.

Lothian Buses has gone above and beyond to accommodate mobility scooter users on its Edinburgh Bus Tours. Following a £6.5m investment, Lothian Buses fitted various mobility-friendly features on the buses used in its Edinburgh Bus Tour, City Sightseeing Tour and Majestic Tour routes. These vehicles offer two accessible spaces, which have securement systems installed. This means that your mobility scooter will be electronically held in place, helping you stay stable as the bus moves.

The accessible spaces fitted on the vehicles used in the Edinburgh, City Sightseeing and Majestic Tours are suitable for Class Two Mobility Scooter users. Various models sold by Quingo, such as the very affordable Quingo Classic, are Class Two, meaning that you’ll have no problem going on one of the Edinburgh Bus Tours with one of these models. The buses also have two ramps, which the drivers will be happy to roll out for you. There are also display screens showing footage from the front of the bus, alongside subtitled commentary, fitted above the wheelchair spaces.

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.

Days Out, News, Public Transport, Quingo Scooters

Uber Offer uberASSIST – Improving Accessibility

Here at Quingo Scooters we’re passionate about finding new tools and discovering how they can make travelling with your mobility scooter that little bit easier.

Back in October last year, the increasingly popular taxi company Uber launched a new feature to their London services. uberASSIST is a ‘transport option to provide additional assistance for disabled riders and others with access needs, including those who may just feel more comfortable with an extra hand when getting from A to B at the tap of a button.’

Getting around the city can be a struggle for anyone, so it’s great to know that at the tap of an app you can relax knowing that your every need is being taken care of whilst travelling around the city.

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uberASSIST

Uber created the service as they weren’t impressed with the accessibility of London’s transport network. Only 24% of London’s underground stations have step free access, and new research suggests that those who are disabled use taxis and other private hire vehicle services more than those who are not disabled.

Uber have worked with Transport for All to develop uberASSIST, making sure that it offers the same convenience, reliability and safety features of standard Uber journeys – all at affordable prices.

Uber reassure that you will have complete ease of communication, driven by a driver that has completed a disability equality course delivered by Transport for All and Inclusion London. Uber’s vehicles can accommodate most folding mobility scooters, and are hoping to add fully accessible mobility scooter vehicles to their service this year.

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How to request uberASSIST

If you live in London, and would like to try the uberASSIST service next time you require a taxi, follow these steps:

  1. Download the Uber app and create your account
  2. Add the codeASSISTUK into PROMOTIONS
  3. Move the icon on the slider to ASSIST
  4. Set your location and request your ride

Affordable accessibility

Robin Hindle Fisher, Chair of the Extra Costs Commission, said of the service: “Life costs more if you are disabled. Research shows that this adds up to an average of £550 per month. I was pleased to chair the Extra Costs Commission which set out to identify ways to drive these costs down. We heard time and time again from disabled people that they are paying far too much for private hire vehicles and taxis.

“That’s why we are pleased that Uber have taken on this challenge by launching uberASSIST to better train their drivers, increase the accessibility of their vehicles, and drive down these extra costs disabled people face.”

Share your experience with Quingo!

If you’ve tried the uberASSIST service with your Quingo, we’d be delighted to hear about your experience. You can email your stories, recommendations and pictures by filling out the contact form on our website and we’ll feature them on our blog.

About Quingo Scooters

The Quingo Scooters range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.

Public Transport

Mobility Scooters on Buses and Trams in Edinburgh

The Quingo Scooters team were delighted to read that following calls for mobility scooters to be let on buses and trams in Edinburgh, they are now to be allowed on for the first time under a trial scheme being launched by Scottish transport bosses.

Improved accessibility in Edinburgh

Jim Eadie, the Scottish MSP for Edinburgh Southern, raised the issue of poor accessibility on public transport for mobility scooter users earlier this year. Eadie was told that “operational circumstances” meant Transport for Edinburgh could not allow mobility scooters on board the Scottish capitals busses and trams. Continue reading Mobility Scooters on Buses and Trams in Edinburgh →

Public Transport

Papworth Trust says just “one in five” train stations fully accessible

The Quingo team recently wrote about a BBC exposé that found many companies and services in the UK which were not doing enough to make themselves accessible for those less able. We were glad to see that since the report many of these companies had taken action to improve their accessibility. Continue reading Papworth Trust says just “one in five” train stations fully accessible →