Category Archives: Public Transport

Public Transport

Taking your Quingo on a ferry

In the fourth of a series of articles about taking your scooter on different forms of transport, the Quingo team today want to talk about taking your Quingo on a ferry.

Traveling the sea with your Quingo

At Quingo, accessibility and mobility are major concerns of ours, which is why we’d like to discuss the practicalities of taking your Quingo 5 wheel scooter across the sea.

In the past it was often difficult for those with limited mobility to travel by ship or ferry, but newer and more modern boats have started to make journeys much more accessible.

The rights of passengers travelling by sea and inland waterway are spelt out by EU Regulation 1177/2010, which was introduced in December 2012. The regulation states that ships and ferries are obliged to carry any disabled person that wishes to travel on them, as long as it’s safe to do so.

Furthermore, the European regulation stipulates that assistance must be provided for free, including any help with boarding and accessible information. These rules apply to all services with the exception of sight-seeing tours and very short-distance ferries.

What to consider?

There are no specific regulations regarding taking mobility scooters on ferries, as such not all ferry companies necessarily have the same polices regarding mobility scooter users.

Here are a few points of consideration for taking your mobility scooter across the sea:

  • Quingo suggest that you contact the individual ferry company well in advance to check their procedures, as well as any size and weight requirements.
  • Often, ferry companies will insist that a disabled passenger be accompanied by an able bodied companion when aboard the ferry, depending on the nature of the disability. One reason for this is that in the event of rough seas, some passengers may encounter difficulties. If you’re planning to take the journey alone you should discuss this with the ferry company first.
  • On most ferries disabled cabins are available, but it’s advisable to book these early as there are only a limited number of cabins suitable for disabled travellers.
  • Cabins for the disabled and those with limited mobility are usually placed with better access to all public areas and lifts – particularly on more modern ships. They’re designed with wider doorways, hand bars, low level controls, low door peep holes and specially designed spacious bathrooms.
  • Disabled Motoring UK offers concessions to its members with selected ferry companies on specific routes. You should check with individual ferry companies to see if they offer any discounts for blue-badge holders.

Have you been anywhere interesting on your Quingo?

If you’ve been anywhere interesting on your Quingo for your holidays and travels then we’d love to hear from you about your experiences.  You can email your pictures and comments to [email protected] and we’ll put them up on our blog.

Public Transport

Taking your Quingo on a tram

In the third of a series of articles about taking your Quingo scooter on public transport, today, the Quingo team want to talk about taking your scooter on trams.

Taking your Quingo on the tram

The majority of modern tram services in the UK have developed high levels of access. Much like buses, tram companies are not obliged by law to carry mobility scooters, but some will if they meet specific criteria.

Permit schemes

Currently, of the six tram operators only some carry a permit scheme, so you should always check the specific details with the individual operators. If an operator doesn’t run a permit scheme, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t accept mobility scooters, but it may mean that whether you can take your Quingo on the tram is left to the discretion of the conductor.

In November, the BBC reported on how a mobility scooter ban on Manchester’s Metrolink trams was lifted after a trial. The trial lasted from March to early November and during that time more than eighty permits were issued.  This demonstrates the demand for people with mobility scooters to take their vehicles on public transport.

As of April 2014, all tram companies with permit schemes used the same size restrictions that are used on buses. To find out more about taking your scooter on the bus you can look at our recent blog post, visit the RICA website or contact your local bus company.

Planning your journeys

For service information, you should contact your individual tram operator. All have online and telephone information explaining the details of the fares and assistance offered, in addition to access information.

Specific details about each of the tram operators’ policies is outlined on the RICA website. However, the information is dated from April and we encourage you to contact each tram operator if you’re uncertain about any of the individual details of their policies.

Allows mobility scooters (as of April 2014) Permit Scheme (as of April 2014)
Blackpool (Tramway) Yes Yes
Croydon (Tramlink) Yes No
Manchester (Metrolink) Yes Yes
Midlands (Midland Metro) Yes No
Nottingham (NET) Yes No
Sheffield (Supertram) Yes Yes

 

Get in touch

We want you to have the best possible experience when using your Quingo and hope that you’ve found this blog post to be helpful.

If you’ve been anywhere interesting on your Quingo, we’d love to hear about it. Please send your stories and any photos to [email protected] and we can post them on our blog.

Public Transport

Taking your Quingo on the Train – Part 2

We’ve previously written about taking your Quingo scooter on the train by making use of the Passenger Assistance scheme.

Prefer to plan and book your journey yourself?

It’s not always possible, or desirable to book your journey in advance and you may prefer to organise this yourself. If this applies to you, here are some key points to consider before you start your journey:

  • Your scooter will also need to fit on any ramps used for boarding the train, be within the weight limits prescribed by the individual train company and be able to manoeuvre into the wheelchair space. This won’t be a problem with your Quingo scooter – the 5 wheel configuration offers unequalled agility and allows for tighter turning in confined spaces.
  • Some companies run permit schemes for mobility scooters. If you apply for one, you’ll be asked for details about the dimensions and other features of your scooter so that the train company can assess whether or not it’s acceptable. You will need one permit per scooter.

Finding out more

The Disability Aboard website, run by the Association of Train Operators (ATOC) has a handy list of travel tips, including things like how to avoid the barriers at stations and how accessible the station is. This can help with planning how to get in and around the station.

If you are unsure whether your Quingo meets the criteria, or if you have any other train travel queries, we recommend contacting National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50. They will be able to provide you with up to date travel and accessibility information.

Where have you been?

Have you been anywhere exciting on your Quingo? If you have, we want to hear about it, send your stories and any photos to [email protected] and we can post them on our blog.

Quingo Scooters
We want you to get 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.

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.

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.