There are fewer wheelchair-accessible taxis and private hire vehicles available in Cumbria than before the pandemic, new figures show.
Experts suggest the decrease in the number of licensed vehicles accessible for those with mobility difficulties in England and Wales is due to a lack of training and certification for the safe handling and transport of wheelchairs.
Department for Transport figures show Cumbria had 624 licensed vehicles as of April, but only 44 could be used by people with mobility difficulties.
In March 2020 there were 159.
There were 451 taxis – which can be hailed in the street – in Cumbria, 23 of which were wheelchair accessible.
Most local authorities require all or part of their taxi fleet to be wheelchair-accessible, but only five per cent of them have made it compulsory for private hire vehicles. There is no information available as to whether Cumbria’s authorities have policies in place.
There are 173 minicabs in Cumbria, 21 (12 per cent) of which can offer a ride to a wheelchair user.
David Lawrie, director of the National Private Hire and Taxi Association, said wheelchair-accessible vehicles are often too expensive for drivers to buy, with accessible electric vehicles costing around £70,000.
Across England and Wales, 237,622 (79 per cent) of the total 299,146 licensed vehicles are private hire, with just one in eight of them being wheelchair accessible. There are also over 11,000 fewer taxis on the streets of the two countries this year than in March 2020.
Mr Lawrie added: “There is a massive drop in drivers. And the reason for that is because of lack of government support through COVID.
“Many drivers have gone into the courier business of food deliveries. And they are not going to come back because of the pressure and the regulations on the industry.”
More local authorities started requiring disability awareness training for taxi and private hire vehicles drivers in 2023.
There is no information available on whether drivers in Cumbria require it.
A DfT spokesman said: “While it’s down to local authorities to manage wheelchair accessible vehicles in their fleet, the Government is backing passengers with disability awareness training for drivers and bolstered laws, including fines, for those who fail to provide reasonable assistance.”
The DfT figures show there were five taxis and private hire vehicles for every 1,000 people in England and Wales at the beginning of April.
Cumbria has a lower rate with 2.8 per 1,000 people.
