S.I. No. 193/1997 - Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 1997.

1. The vehicle must have been constructed or adapted so as to be capable of accommodating a person seated in a wheelchair.

2. The vehicle must have seating accommodation for at least three passengers in addition to the person seated in the wheelchair.

3. The vehicle must have at least two doors giving access to the area in the vehicle where the wheelchair and its occupant is to be accommodated.

Each of these doors must have an aperture height of at least 1300mm and an aperture width of at least 735mm.

4. The vehicle must be provided at all times with a mechanism to permit the safe entry and egress of a passenger seated in a wheelchair. The mechanism must be capable of transporting a combined wheelchair and occupant mass of 300kg minimum between the road and the vehicle interior without the assistance of any person but the driver of the vehicle.

5. The wheelchair and its occupant must be accommodated in either a forward facing or a rear facing position in such an area of the vehicle that the occupant has an unrestricted view of the taximeter.

This area must be at least 1350mm in height measured from the floor to the roof lining and have a length of at least 1200mm and a width of at least 750mm available for the exclusive accommodation of the wheelchair and its occupant.

6. The area designated for the accommodation of the wheelchair and its occupant must be provided with

(A) a restraint system which is fixed to the structure of the vehicle by an appropriate means for the purpose of securing the wheelchair, and

(B) a separate restraint system which is fixed to the structure of the vehicle by an appropriate means for the purpose of securing the occupant of the wheelchair.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment, this 8th day of May, 1997.

BRENDAN HOWLIN,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide new criteria for new wheelchair accessible taxis, which will also apply to existing wheelchair accessible taxis from 30th June, 2000, where the vehicle is being changed. They also amend the points system for the grant of taxi and wheelchair accessible taxi licences.

7. The Sixth Schedule to the Regulations of 1995 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for criteria 4 and 5 (

a

)—

"4. Holder of a hackney licence where the address of the holder is situated in the taximeter area in question or where the licensing authority is satisfied that the holder of the licence provided a hackney service in the taximeter in question (provided the holder does not hold or has not held a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence issued since the coming into force of the Regulations of 1978 except where the said licence was surrendered to the licensing authority or the Garda Commissioner as appropriate in accordance with article 21 of these Regulations or article 8 of the Regulations of 1978).

plus 5 points for each full year licence held.

S.I. No. 193 of 1997.

ROAD TRAFFIC (PUBLIC SERVICE VEHICLES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1997.

The Minister for the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred on him by

section 5

of the

Road Traffic Act, 1961

(No. 24 of 1961) and section 82 of that Act as amended by

section 57

of the

Road Traffic Act, 1968

(No. 25 of 1968) hereby makes the following regulations