In the third of a series of articles about taking your Quingo scooter on public transport, today, the Quingo team want to talk about taking your scooter on trams.
Taking your Quingo on the tram
The majority of modern tram services in the UK have developed high levels of access. Much like buses, tram companies are not obliged by law to carry mobility scooters, but some will if they meet specific criteria.
Permit schemes
Currently, of the six tram operators only some carry a permit scheme, so you should always check the specific details with the individual operators. If an operator doesn’t run a permit scheme, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t accept mobility scooters, but it may mean that whether you can take your Quingo on the tram is left to the discretion of the conductor.
In November, the BBC reported on how a mobility scooter ban on Manchester’s Metrolink trams was lifted after a trial. The trial lasted from March to early November and during that time more than eighty permits were issued. This demonstrates the demand for people with mobility scooters to take their vehicles on public transport.
As of April 2014, all tram companies with permit schemes used the same size restrictions that are used on buses. To find out more about taking your scooter on the bus you can look at our recent blog post, visit the RICA website or contact your local bus company.
Planning your journeys
For service information, you should contact your individual tram operator. All have online and telephone information explaining the details of the fares and assistance offered, in addition to access information.
Specific details about each of the tram operators’ policies is outlined on the RICA website. However, the information is dated from April and we encourage you to contact each tram operator if you’re uncertain about any of the individual details of their policies.
| Allows mobility scooters (as of April 2014) | Permit Scheme (as of April 2014) | |
| Blackpool (Tramway) | Yes | Yes |
| Croydon (Tramlink) | Yes | No |
| Manchester (Metrolink) | Yes | Yes |
| Midlands (Midland Metro) | Yes | No |
| Nottingham (NET) | Yes | No |
| Sheffield (Supertram) | Yes | Yes |
Get in touch
We want you to have the best possible experience when using your Quingo and hope that you’ve found this blog post to be helpful.
If you’ve been anywhere interesting on your Quingo, we’d love to hear about it. Please send your stories and any photos to [email protected] and we can post them on our blog.
