Using Mobility Scooters onboard

Onboard rail services

Northern railway have worked hard to upgrade their train fleet to make it more accessible, introducing almost 100 new trains and refurbishing more than 200 others. The trains serving customers in the North are now more accessible than ever. 

They are now able to offer customers who use mobility scooters better access at more than 100 stations which are fully accessible. 

Find out which stations are now 'Scooter friendly' and how you can join the scheme to apply for a permit on the Northern website. 

Read or download Northern's guide to 'Making Rail accessible: helping older and disabled passengers' (PDF, 6Mb)

Image courtesy of Northern railways

 

Onboard buses and trams

The national Mobility Scooter Permit Scheme enables users of some types of scooter to travel on their scooter on buses (including trams in Sheffield and tram trains in Rotherham). The Scooter Permit is not a fare card; users will still need to pay or use an ENCTS pass in order to travel.

In order to get a permit, users need to have a Class 2 scooter that: 

• is no larger than 1000mm long, 600mm wide, with a turning radius no greater than 1200mm. 
• Weighs no more than 300kg (47 Stone) with the user seated on it.
• Can fit in the wheelchair space on board all accessible low-floor buses 
• Can board in a safe and controlled manner. 

A free, simple assessment will be conducted by a participating bus operator. In South Yorkshire, Arriva, First South Yorkshire and Stagecoach have all signed up to the scheme and offer assessments and issue permits. Anyone wishing to apply for a permit needs to contact them direct. Customers who only use tram services must still hold a permit and so will still be required to contact a participating bus operator to obtain the scooter permit.

Please call the numbers below for more details.

• First Bus – you can request a scooter assessment via their contact form on the First website 
• Stagecoach Yorkshire  - Stagecoach website
• Stagecoach East Midlands - Stagecoach website
  

or phone your local operator

Once a permit has been issued it will be accepted by all participating bus operators nationally and also by Stagecoach Supertram in Sheffield and Rotherham. 

If you are not sure if your local service accepts Scooter Permits, you may wish to contact the relevant operator directly to ask about their policy on mobility scooters.