Lifestyle
The law - Disability Discrimination Act
Sections of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 that are supposed to make life easier for disabled travellers include:
Part III: Goods, Facilities and Services, which applies to travel agencies and consultancies; tour, accommodation and attractions operators; and transport infrastructure (including facilities such as timetables, booking procedures, stations, waiting room and station cafés).
Operators are now required to make changes, or ‘reasonable adjustments’, in policy, practices and procedures, and to remove physical barriers.
Part V: Public Transport, which applies to taxis, buses, coaches, trains and trams. This is still in the consultation and draft regulations stages, and improvements will be phased in over a period of several years.
Under the terms of the Act, travel operators have a duty to ensure that they do not treat disabled customers less favourably than other customers. But the DDA only applies within the
You should be aware that the Act does not cover airline travel and is only governed by a voluntary Code of Practice, which sets out the minimum standards of service disabled passengers can expect. This includes assistance with boarding the plane, getting to the toilet, fetching items, opening food packages and reading menus, but not with feeding or toilet assistance.
Legal officers at individual charities can advise on DDA matters. You can obtain government leaflets by visiting its website at www.disability.gov.uk
Guide dogs
Remember that under the terms of the DDA it is unlawful for