Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Agency overview
Formed	1985
Jurisdiction	England
Headquarters	London
Minister responsible	Heidi Alexander MP, Secretary of State for Transport
Agency executive	Professor Matthew Campbell-Hill [1] , Chair
Parent department	Department of Transport
Website	Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (also known as "DPTAC") is an expert committee established by the Transport Act 1985, ^[2] to provide advice to the government on the transport needs of disabled people. ^[3]

Membership of the DPTAC is mostly, but not exclusively, disabled people. ^[4]

Work

The DPTAC mainly came into prominence with the 1988 publication of the 'Recommended Specification for Buses Used to Operate Local Services' document, soon followed by the 'Recommended Specification for Low-Floor Buses' in 1997. ^[5] These documents recommended that new or existing step-entrance and low-floor buses in the United Kingdom be fitted with internal accessibility aids, such as brightly-coloured handrails with large bell-pushes attached, widened entrance doors with minimal or no steps, and non-slip flooring throughout the bus. ^[6] Throughout the 1990s, new buses such as the Optare Spectra, Plaxton Pointer and Wright Endurance were delivered to operators with 'DiPTAC' features, while some operators modified older buses to accommodate these features.

Following the passage of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the DPTAC's guidance was superseded in 2000 by the Department for Transport's statutory Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR). ^[7] PSVAR saw buses and coaches with a carrying capacity of over 22 passengers withdrawn from revenue-earning service if they were not compliant with the new regulations, otherwise an operator risked being fined by the Department for Transport. Withdrawals of non-PSVAR-compliant single and double-decker buses were carried out by most bus operators for the end of 2015 and 2016 respectively, ^{[8] [9]} however some operators lengthened the service life of non-compliant buses by reclassifying them as coaches. ^[10] Non-compliant coaches were scheduled to be withdrawn by the end of 2019, however this date has been repeatedly delayed until 31 July 2026 as a result of various exemptions being issued by the Department for Transport for school transport and rail replacement coach services. ^{[11] [12]}

The committee has advised the government on several measures, including requesting additional finance for works to rail access, ^[13] and work on accessibility for users of taxi services. ^[14]

The committee was considered for abolition with a successor organisation taking over its work. A consultation was held in 2012 with responses from organisations such as the Office of Road and Rail; ^[15] however the result was not published by the committee. ^[16]

During the coronavirus pandemic, the DPTAC issued guidance regarding the use of face coverings, specifically on the identification of exemptions to the requirements. ^[17]

References

1. "Professor Matthew Campbell-Hill". GOV.UK.
2. "Transport Act 1985". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
3. "Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC)". Disability Information Scotland. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
4. "Membership". GOV.UK. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
5. "Recommended specification for low-floor buses". TRID. Washington DC: Transportation Research Board. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
6. Cordrey, Tanya (17 May 1990). "Omnipotent bus". Commercial Motor . Vol. 172, no. 4369. Sutton: Reed Business Publishing. p. 52. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
7. "Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 - Guidance". London: Department for Transport. 2000. p. 3. Retrieved 14 November 2025– via WhatDoTheyKnow. The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC - the Government's statutory advisers on the transport needs of disabled people) have agreed that the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 and particularly this associated guidance supercede the non-statutory DPTAC Recommended Specification For Buses Used To Operate Local Services and Recommended Specification for Low-Floor Buses.
8. "From January: all single-decker buses must be accessible to wheelchair users". Transport for All. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
9. "Last exit for step entry" . Buses . No. 743. Stamford: Key Publishing. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
10. Clark, Rhodri (15 September 2017). "Step-entrance buses continue running, two years after ban" . TransportXtra. London. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
11. "Applications open for PSVAR exemptions to 2026". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
12. "DfT announce a temporary exemption of PSVAR for some school services". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
13. "Government's advisers call for billions extra in rail access cash". Disability News Service. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
14. "Making private hire services more accessible to disabled people. Good practice guide". thenbs.com. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
15. "ORR response to the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee consultation on the abolition of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) and the best option for successor arrangements should DPTAC be abolished | Office of Rail and Road". www.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
16. "Government's access advisers set to publish long-awaited documents, after ABC pressure". Disability News Service. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
17. "DPTAC position on face coverings and exemptions". GOV.UK. Retrieved 18 May 2022.