The Public Service Vehicles (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Made: 20th September 2016

Coming into operation: 31st October 2016

The Department for Infrastructure[^f00001] makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 66(1) and 218(1) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981[^f00002] and now vested in it[^f00003].

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Public Service Vehicles (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 and shall come into operation on 31st October 2016.

• (2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Public Service Vehicles Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985[^f00004].

Amendment to regulation 3 (interpretation)

2

In regulation 3(1) of the principal Regulations—

• (a) at the beginning insert—

• “the Order” means the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981;
• “the 1995 Act” means the Disability Discrimination Act 1995[^f00005];
• “the 1995 Order” means the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00006];
• “the 1995 Regulations” means the Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995[^f00007];
• “the 2003 Regulations” means the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003[^f00008];

• (b) insert the following new definitions in the appropriate places according to alphabetical order—

• “assistance dog” has the same meaning as in section 37A(9) (carrying of assistance dogs in private hire vehicles) of the 1995 Act[^f00009];
• “disabled person” has the same meaning as in section 1 (meaning of “disability” and “disabled person”) of the 1995 Act;
• “regulated public service vehicle” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) (interpretation) of the 2003 Regulations;

• (c) after the definition of “multi journey ticket” omit the definition of “the Order” and “the 1995 Order”; and

• (d) for the definition of “vehicle” substitute—

• “vehicle” means a public service vehicle except in Part VI where it means a regulated public service vehicle.

Amendment to regulation 47 (conduct of drivers and other persons employed in connection with vehicles)

3

In regulation 47(4) of the principal Regulations[^f00010]—

• (a) at the end of sub-paragraph (a) omit “and”;

• (b) at the end of sub-paragraph (b) add “in connection with their travel on the vehicle; and”; and

• (c) after sub-paragraph (b) add—

(c) shall not, subject to regulation 52 (fares and tickets) and there being a suitable space available, prevent an intending passenger who is a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog, from being allowed to board and travel in the vehicle with that dog.

Amendment to regulation 48 (duties of driver)

4

In regulation 48(1)(a)(i) of the principal Regulations—

• (a) for “regulations 18 and 20” substitute “regulations 61 (calculation of maximum seating capacity) and 62 (calculation of maximum standing capacity) of the 1995 Regulations”; and

• (b) for “regulation 39(1)” substitute “regulation 59 (markings) of the 1995 Regulations”.

Amendment to regulation 54 (carriage of animals)

5

In regulation 54 of the principal Regulations, after paragraph (2) add—

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply where the passenger is a disabled person and the animal is an assistance dog. (4) A passenger who is a disabled person shall comply with any direction given by a driver to remove his assistance dog from the gangway.

New Part VI (the conduct of drivers of regulated public service vehicles with respect to wheelchair users and other disabled persons)

6

After Part V of the principal Regulations insert Part VI as set out in the Schedule.

SCHEDULE

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Infrastructure on 20th September 2016

Elizabeth Loughran — A senior officer of the — Department for Infrastructure

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Public Service Vehicles Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985 (“the 1985 Regulations”) to introduce new duties for drivers of regulated public service vehicles in relation to passengers who are disabled.

Regulation 47 of the 1985 Regulations is amended so that a driver shall not prevent a disabled person who is accompanied by an assistance dog from boarding the bus where a suitable space is available.

Regulation 54 of the 1985 Regulations is amended so that an assistance dog is not required to be removed from the vehicle but a disabled person must comply with any direction given by the driver to remove such an animal from a gangway.

A new Part VI is inserted in the 1985 Regulations and sets out additional duties for drivers of public service vehicles to which the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”) apply with respect to passengers who are disabled (including passengers who are wheelchair users) as follows:

Regulation 64 (duties towards wheelchair users of Schedule 1 vehicles) adds new duties towards wheelchair users of regulated public service vehicles required to comply with the wheelchair accessibility requirements of Schedule 1 to the 2003 Regulations.

Regulation 65 (duties concerning kneeling systems, etc. towards disabled persons using Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 vehicles) adds new duties towards disabled persons using regulated public service vehicles required to comply with the general accessibility requirements for single-deck and double-deck buses and single-deck and double-deck coaches.

Regulation 66 (general duties towards wheelchair users and other disabled persons) contains provisions relating to duties in the deployment of boarding lifts and ramps and, when it is requested, in the providing of assistance to wheelchair users and other disabled persons to board or to alight.

Regulation 67 (effects of faulty or malfunctioning equipment) provides in paragraph (1) that where a driver carrying out duties under regulations 64, 65 and 66 uses equipment, a kneeling system or a folding or retractable step that is faulty or fails, he must not allow wheelchair users or other disabled persons to board or alight from the vehicle unless he is satisfied that they can do so in safety. Paragraph (2) excuses a driver for failure to perform his duty with regard to the operation of kneeling systems or folding or retractable steps and to display a route number and destination if that failure is due to a fault in the equipment or system.

Regulation 68 (route numbers, etc.) is concerned with the display of a route number and destination.

Regulation 69 (extent of driver’s duty) defines the duty of a driver as being one of reasonable care but not one as to oblige him to take steps if, on reasonable grounds, he considers there to be a risk to the health or safety of the wheelchair user or other disabled passenger or to that of other passengers, members of the public or to himself.

An Explanatory Memorandum has been produced and is available from Road Safety and Vehicle Regulation Division, Department for Infrastructure, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Town Parks, Belfast BT2 8GB or online alongside this Statutory Rule athttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr

Footnotes

[^f00001]: Formerly the Department for Regional Development; see section 1(6) and (11) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Departments Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (2016 c. 5 (N.I)). Pursuant to section 1(9) of that Act, the Department of the Environment was dissolved

[^f00002]: S.I. 1981/154 (N.I. 1)

[^f00003]: See Article 8(1)(b) of, and Part 2 of Schedule 5 to, the Departments (Transfer of Functions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016 No. 76)

[^f00004]: S.R. 1985 No. 123; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1990 No. 201, S.R. 2000 No. 149 and S.R. 2011 No. 301

[^f00005]: 1995 c. 50: Schedule 8 to the Act modifies the Act in its application to Northern Ireland

[^f00006]: S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I. 18)

[^f00007]: S.R. 1995 No. 447, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations

[^f00008]: S.R. 2003 No. 37; to which there is an amendment not relevant to these Regulations

[^f00009]: Regulation 3 (prescribed charities) of the Disability Discrimination (Private Hire Vehicles) (Carrying of Guide Dogs etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008 No. 19) prescribes the charities for the purposes of the definition of assistance dog in section 37A(9) of the 1995 Act

[^f00010]: Regulation 47 was substituted by regulation 2 of S.R. 1990 No. 201