Accessible Private Hire for Disabled and Deaf Passengers
Straight answers first, because “subject to availability” is no use when you are deciding whether a journey is possible at all. Here is what we can and cannot do. If the answer is no, we say so and point you somewhere else.
| Can we… | Answer | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|
| Carry your assistance dog | Always | No charge, no notice needed, no questions. It is your right, not our favour. |
| Take a folding wheelchair or walking frame | [YES / VEHICLE TYPES] | [STATE WHICH VEHICLES AND ANY SIZE LIMIT] |
| Carry you seated in your wheelchair, with a ramp | [YES / NO] | [IF YES: NOTICE REQUIRED, AREAS COVERED, HOW TO BOOK. IF NO: SAY SO AND LINK TO OPERATORS WHO DO.] |
| Text you instead of ringing | Yes | Tell us once and it applies to every booking. |
| Send the same driver each time | [YES / SOMETIMES / NO] | [STATE HONESTLY WHAT DISPATCH CAN DO] |
| Allow extra time at pickup and drop-off | Yes | Built into the booking, not charged as waiting time. |
Tell Us Once
The thing we hear most often is not about vehicles. It is about having to explain the same thing on every single booking, to a different person each time — and then finding the driver was never told anyway.
So tell us once. We save what you need against your details, attach it to every booking you make, and send it to the driver before they accept the job rather than when they arrive.
That last part is the bit that matters. A driver who finds out at the kerb is a driver deciding what to do about a passenger who is already waiting. A driver who knows beforehand has either taken the job or not.
What you can save
- How you’d like to be contacted — text, call, WhatsApp, or not at all.
- Where to stop. A particular door, a dropped kerb, the side of the road that works, or as close to the entrance as the vehicle can get.
- What travels with you — a wheelchair, a frame, an assistance dog, oxygen, anything the driver should expect.
- What help you want, and what you don’t. Some people want a hand with the door and nothing else. Some want no assistance at all unless they ask. Both are fine and neither needs explaining.
- Extra time at either end.
- Anything else you’d rather not repeat.
Change it whenever you like, and ask us to delete it whenever you like. We don’t ask what your condition is and we don’t want to know — only what makes the journey work.
Content team: this is the page’s differentiator and it depends on two things: the booking system storing a profile against a customer record, and the profile reaching the driver at job offer, not at arrival. Confirm both. If the profile can be stored but not transmitted before acceptance, the second paragraph must be rewritten — and it would be worth building the transmission before publishing this section at all.
How We Get in Touch
The standard arrangement across the industry is that the driver rings you on arrival. For a lot of people that does not work, and there is no good reason it should be the only option.
- Text or WhatsApp instead of a call. Tell us and the driver messages rather than rings.
- No contact at all. If you’d rather the driver simply waited at an agreed spot, say so. We’ll agree exactly where.
- Contact someone else. A family member, a carer or a support worker can be the point of contact instead of you.
- Book without phoning. Online or by WhatsApp, start to finish, including changes and cancellations.
- Written confirmation with the driver’s name, the vehicle, the registration and the time — so you know what you’re looking for without having to ask anyone.
Set it once in your saved profile and it applies every time.
Wheelchairs and Mobility Aids
[BRANCH DECISION — SEE §01. WRITE ONE OF THE TWO VERSIONS BELOW AND DELETE THE OTHER. DO NOT MERGE THEM.]
Folding wheelchairs, frames and walking aids
- These travel in the boot on [STATE VEHICLE TYPES]. Tell us at booking so we send a vehicle with room, rather than one that technically seats you but cannot take the chair.
- Tell us if you need help transferring into the seat, and what kind. Drivers can offer a steadying arm; they are not trained to lift and will not attempt it.
- Powered chairs and scooters are usually too heavy for a boot. [STATE THE POSITION PLAINLY.]
- Tell us the folded dimensions if the chair is unusual. It is a two-second question that prevents the wrong vehicle arriving.
Travelling seated in your wheelchair
[BRANCH A: state the vehicles, the ramp or lift type, the securement arrangements, the notice required, the areas covered and how to book. Be specific about weight and size limits. BRANCH B: state plainly that RushXO does not operate wheelchair-accessible vehicles, and link to operators and to the local authority’s list of accessible operators. Do not hedge this.]
Content team — the most important paragraph on the site. Whatever goes here must be true on a wet Tuesday in February at 6am, not true in principle. If a ramp vehicle exists but is one vehicle covering one area with three days’ notice, say exactly that. Someone will plan a hospital appointment around this paragraph.
Assistance Dogs
Your assistance dog travels with you. Always, at no extra charge, with no notice required and no questions asked.
We are saying it that plainly because refusals are common across the industry and because you should not have to negotiate it at the kerb.
- No advance notice is needed. Tell us if you like, and we’ll note it on your profile so it is never a conversation again — but a booking made without mentioning it is a booking that includes your dog.
- No charge, ever, and no cleaning fee.
- We will not ask for proof, a harness, a jacket, an ID book or a certificate.
- It applies to every kind of assistance dog — guide dogs, hearing dogs, and dogs assisting with mobility, medical alert or other conditions, whether or not the dog is wearing anything that identifies it.
- Tell us where the dog will travel if you have a preference, so we send a vehicle with the footwell or boot space that suits.
If a driver ever refuses, please tell us — call "020 8888 9988" or use the complaints route below. We will deal with it, and you are also entitled to report it to the licensing authority independently of us. More on your rights.
Content team: confirm whether any driver holds a medical exemption certificate, and how dispatch prevents such a driver being allocated to a passenger with an assistance dog. Also confirm the internal consequence of a refusal — a stated policy with no enforcement behind it is precisely what this audience has learned to discount.
If You’re Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Most of what goes wrong here is a booking process that assumes a phone call at both ends. It does not have to.
- Book entirely in writing — online or by WhatsApp — including changes and cancellations. You will never be told to ring us.
- The driver messages instead of ringing. Set it once and it applies to every journey.
- You get the driver’s name, the vehicle, the colour and the registration in writing before pickup, so you can identify the car without a conversation.
- Agree a precise meeting point when you book, rather than relying on a phone call to sort it out on the day.
- Tell us how you’d prefer to communicate with the driver — writing, typing on a phone, or not at all. It goes on the job sheet.
- At airports, the meet & greet name board works well, and we can add a note asking the driver to face you when speaking if you lip-read.
We do not employ BSL-using staff or provide interpreters, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. [CONTENT TEAM: if any staff member does use BSL, say so specifically and honestly — and only if they are reachable in practice.]
If You’re Blind or Partially Sighted
- The driver comes to you rather than waiting for you to find the car, and says who they are on approach.
- Guiding, if you want it. The driver offers an arm and follows your lead. Nobody will take hold of you, and nobody will move your cane.
- A description of the vehicle and the door — which way it opens, whether there is a step, what is where.
- Tell us if you’d rather have no assistance. Plenty of people would, and it goes on your profile so it is never assumed.
- Assistance dogs — see above. Always, no charge, no notice.
- At the destination, we can note whether you’d like the driver to walk you to a door or entrance.
Autistic and Neurodivergent Passengers
What usually helps is predictability — knowing what will happen, and it then happening.
- Written confirmation with the details in advance — driver, vehicle, registration, time, route if you want it.
- No unexpected changes. If something has to change, you hear it from us in writing as early as we know.
- A quiet journey if you’d prefer one. No radio, no conversation, windows as you want them. Ask once and it is on your profile.
- No small talk is a completely normal request and not one anyone will find odd.
- Extra time at pickup, so nobody is waiting on you or rushing you.
- The same driver where we can, if familiarity helps — [STATE HONESTLY WHAT DISPATCH CAN DO].
Pain, Fatigue and Non-Visible Disabilities
Not everything that affects a journey is visible, and you should not have to justify any of it.
- A seat that is easier to get into — a higher vehicle, or a lower one. Tell us which suits you.
- Time. Extra minutes at either end, built into the booking rather than charged as waiting.
- Door to door, as close to the entrance as the vehicle can get.
- Breaks on longer journeys, planned and priced in at booking rather than negotiated on the road.
- Help with bags, or none.
You will never be asked to explain why, and we will not ask for evidence of anything.
Travelling With a Companion, Carer or PA
- Someone travelling with you is a passenger, counted in the vehicle size and not charged as an extra.
- Tell us if they need to sit next to you, and we’ll size the vehicle so that is possible rather than technically true.
- Booking on someone’s behalf is fine — give us the traveller’s name and number as well as yours; the driver contacts whoever you nominate.
- Regular journeys can be set up as a repeating booking with the profile attached each time.
Airport Journeys
All five London airports, plus regional airports on request — see London airport transfers.
- Meet & greet in arrivals with a name board on eligible bookings, so you are not looking for a car in a car park.
- Tell us which terminal and which door. Airport accessible drop-off points are often not the main entrance, and knowing in advance saves a long push or a long walk.
- Airport special assistance is booked with your airline, not with us — and it is worth booking early. We can only get you to and from the terminal.
- Allow more time than the flight suggests if you are using assistance at the airport, and tell us the time you need to arrive by rather than a pickup time.
- Where flight monitoring is available the transfer follows your actual landing time, and eligible bookings include complimentary waiting — useful when assistance takes longer than planned.
What You’re Entitled To — Including Where It Constrains Us
We would rather you knew this than didn’t, even though parts of it are things you could hold us to.
- A driver must not refuse to carry you because you are disabled, and must not charge you more than they would charge anyone else for the same journey.
- Assistance dogs must be carried, at no extra charge. Refusing without a valid medical exemption certificate is a criminal offence, and a driver holding an exemption must display it.
- Reasonable mobility assistance — with getting in and out, and with loading a mobility aid — must be provided, and cannot be charged for.
- You do not have to prove anything. No badge, certificate, diagnosis or explanation.
- If any of this is not what happens, tell us — and you can also complain directly to the authority that licenses the driver, independently of us. Details in if something goes wrong.
This is a summary of the general position rather than legal advice, and the detail can depend on circumstances. [CONTENT TEAM: this entire section requires legal verification before publication, and a link to the relevant statutory guidance. Do not publish an unverified statement of someone’s rights — getting it wrong here is worse than staying silent.]
If Something Goes Wrong
- The vehicle is wrong, or the driver won’t take your dog or your chair. Call "020 8888 9988" straight away. We will sort the journey out first and deal with the rest afterwards — getting you where you are going comes before any conversation about what went wrong.
- Complaints to [EMAIL] or the number above, in whatever form suits you — email, message or phone. We acknowledge within [X WORKING DAYS].
- You can complain to the licensing authority too. Our operator licence is issued by [LICENSING AUTHORITY], and driver licensing complaints go to them directly. We would rather tell you that than have you find it out.
- Complaining will not affect any future booking you make with us. If it ever appears to, that is itself something to complain about.
Vehicles, Fares and Terms
- Vehicles and luggage — passengers and cases by vehicle type.
- How our pricing works — what a quote is built. Nothing on this page is chargeable as an extra: not a wheelchair, not an assistance dog, not assistance, not the extra time.
- Waiting, changes and cancellations — what’s included and what can be changed.
- Assisted and door-to-door travel — and account travel if an organisation is booking.
How to Book
Set up your profile once
What you need, how you’d like to be contacted, and what help you do or don’t want. Online, or tell us and we’ll save it.
Give us the addresses and the door
Which entrance, which side, where the dropped kerb is. Specifics beat postcodes.
Tell us when you need to arrive
Rather than a pickup time, if the journey has a fixed end. We work backwards and tell you if it’s too tight.
Confirm who’s travelling
Including a companion, carer or PA, and anything travelling with you.
Get it in writing
Driver name, vehicle, colour, registration and time — before the day, so you know what you’re looking for.
You can do all of it without making a phone call. If you’d rather talk to someone, call "020 8888 9988".
Why Book With Us
Tell us once
Saved to your profile and sent to the driver before they accept the job.
Straight answers
Including no. We would rather lose a booking than fail one.
Assistance dogs always
No charge, no notice, no proof, no discussion.
No phone call needed
Book, change and cancel entirely in writing.
Nothing charged as an extra
Not a chair, not a dog, not assistance, not the extra minutes.
Written vehicle details
Driver, colour and registration before the day.
No proof required
We ask what you need, never what your condition is.
UK-wide coverage
Airports, stations, appointments and long-distance journeys.
What we don’t claim: our drivers are not carers and are not trained to lift or provide personal care. We do not employ BSL-using staff or provide interpreters. We are not a specialist accessible transport provider or a patient transport service, and where something is outside what we can do we will say so and point you somewhere better. [BRANCH B: add the wheelchair-accessible vehicle statement here as well as in the matrix.]
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a driver refuse to take my assistance dog?
No. Your assistance dog travels with you, at no extra charge, with no notice required and no proof of any kind. Refusing to carry an assistance dog without a valid medical exemption certificate is a criminal offence, and a driver who holds an exemption must display it. If a RushXO driver ever refuses, call "020 8888 9988" — and you can report it to the licensing authority independently of us.
Do you have wheelchair-accessible vehicles?
[ANSWER PLAINLY, EITHER WAY. IF YES: STATE THE VEHICLES, THE NOTICE REQUIRED, THE AREAS COVERED AND HOW TO BOOK. IF NO: SAY SO AND LINK TO OPERATORS WHO DO. THIS ANSWER MUST NOT BE HEDGED.]
Will you charge me extra for my wheelchair, my dog, or for help getting in?
No, and a driver is not permitted to. The fare is the fare for the journey. If anyone ever suggests otherwise, tell us.
Do I have to prove I’m disabled?
No. We don’t ask for a badge, a certificate, a diagnosis or an explanation, and we don’t ask what your condition is — only what makes the journey work.
Can the driver text me instead of ringing?
Yes. Save it to your profile once and it applies to every booking. You can also ask for no contact at all, with an agreed meeting point, or for us to contact someone else instead.
Can I book without making a phone call?
Yes — online or by WhatsApp, start to finish, including changes and cancellations. You will never be told you have to ring us.
Do I have to explain what I need every time I book?
No. That’s the point of the saved profile: tell us once, and it’s attached to every booking and sent to the driver before they accept the job. You can change or delete it whenever you like.
Can I have the same driver each time?
[STATE HONESTLY WHAT DISPATCH CAN DO — “YES”, “WHERE WE CAN, BUT WE CAN’T PROMISE IT”, OR “NO”. DO NOT WRITE “WHERE AVAILABLE”.]
Will the driver help me into the vehicle?
A driver can offer a steadying arm and will help with a mobility aid or bags. Drivers are not carers and are not trained to lift, and will not attempt it. Tell us what kind of help you want — or that you want none — and it goes on the job sheet.
Can someone travel with me?
Yes. A companion, carer or personal assistant is a passenger like any other and isn’t charged as an extra. Tell us if they need to sit next to you so we size the vehicle for it.
Can I ask for a quiet journey with no conversation?
Yes, and it’s a completely ordinary request. No radio, no small talk, windows as you want them. Save it to your profile and you won’t have to ask again.
How much notice do you need?
For a standard vehicle, as much as you can give, but short notice is often fine. [BRANCH A: STATE THE NOTICE REQUIRED FOR A RAMP-EQUIPPED VEHICLE SEPARATELY AND SPECIFICALLY.]
Can you help with airport special assistance?
Airport assistance is booked through your airline rather than through us, and it’s worth booking early. We get you to and from the terminal — tell us the terminal and the accessible drop-off point you want, and allow extra time if you’re using assistance at the airport.
Can an organisation book on my behalf and be invoiced?
Yes — see account travel. The profile stays attached to you as the passenger, and the confirmation and invoice go to whoever is booking.
What if the wrong vehicle turns up?
Call "020 8888 9988" straight away. We’ll sort the journey out first and work out what went wrong afterwards. Complaining will never affect a future booking.
Do you provide patient transport?
No. We’re a private hire company, not a patient transport service, and our drivers are not medically trained. If you have a hospital appointment it’s worth checking whether you qualify for NHS patient transport before booking privately — your hospital or GP practice can tell you.
About This Page
Published 26 July 2026 · Last reviewed 26 July 2026 · Next review due 26 July 2026
This page is reviewed at least twice a year and whenever the fleet or our capabilities change. If anything on it is wrong, or a journey didn’t match what it says, please tell us — the page is only worth anything if it is accurate.
RushXO [REGISTERED COMPANY NAME], company number [NUMBER], [REGISTERED ADDRESS]. Private hire operator licence [NUMBER], issued by [LICENSING AUTHORITY].
Tell us once, and we’ll remember
Set up what you need, how you’d like to be contacted and what help you do or don’t want. It goes on every booking and reaches the driver before they accept the job. You can do all of it without picking up a phone.
"020 8888 9988"
WhatsApp +44 7466 237870
rushxo.com