Introduction
South Ribble Borough Council has a responsibility to ensure that all vehicles operating as hackney carriage and private hire vehicles are fit for purpose. This is particularly important for vehicles which have been adapted, converted or modified to carry passengers who use wheelchairs or who have specialised needs.
South Ribble is home to one of the largest number of vehicles which have been self-converted from vans to carry wheelchair passengers. Whilst the current roadworthiness checks ensure that a vehicle is mechanically sound, they do not extend to checking that the modifications have been carried out to the required standard.
Typically the types of vehicles adapted or modified are:
- small vans (N1 vehicles)
- minibus type vehicles (M2 vehicles) - although these could be classified as a standard M1 vehicle.
Further details on the relevant classifications are given below:
M1- vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers comprising no more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat
M2 - vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, and having a maximum mass not exceeding 5 tonnes
N1 - Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes
This policy will apply to all vehicles that have been converted, modified or adapted from the original manufacturer's specification since first registration and is intended to provide additional safeguards to ensure that the conversion, modification or adaptation has been completed to the required standard and remains in such state for the period that the vehicle is licensed by this authority.
This policy will not apply to any vehicle including wheelchair accessible vehicles that are produced for licensing that have not been converted, modified or adapted since its initial registration.