MOBILITY scooters will be allowed on Nottingham City Transport buses from today.
The city transport company has signed a voluntary code, that means mobility scooters – with a permit – are accepted.
"All our buses have been accessible to wheelchair users for over a year – five years ahead of the legal deadline –but mobility scooters have been a bit of a grey area," said Nottingham City Transport marketing manager Anthony Carver-Smith.
"Regulations which require us to carry wheelchairs specifically excluded mobility scooters, as they were deemed to be too big and a form of transport in their own right."
"However, the voluntary code recognised the technical development of mobility scooters over the last ten years, highlighting they are now smaller – so the guidelines had become outdated and unfair to some ."
Mobility scooter users will need a permit to demonstrate their scooters meet the requirements of a Class 2 vehicle with an upper speed limit of 4mph designed to be used on pavements.
Permits are issued by Nottingham City Transport after the customer receives training.
Once they have the permit, they can be carried on any bus if the operator is a scheme member.
If you use a Class 2 scooter and need a permit, call the NCT travel centre on 0115 9 50 60 70 or e-mail travelcentre@nctx.co.uk to arrange a home visit.
