Are You PSVAR Compliant?

Are You PSVAR Compliant?

Since August last year, the latest round of exemptions from the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) came into effect, impacting operator fleets on scheduled services and most rail replacements.

The regulations outline specific compliance levels operators need to meet. Stricter requirements will come into effect by August this year – with full compliance expected by August 2026.

What is PSVAR?

PSVAR legislation is designed to make transport more accessible to disabled passengers. It sets out requirements for ramps, coloured handrails, priority seats, and other accessibility facilities on coaches.

The regulations categorise operators into bands based on fleet size, with different thresholds for partial and full compliance.

Partial compliance means meeting key accessibility standards, including the criteria such as handrails, seat spacing and more. Vehicles not used for rail replacement or in-scope home-to-school services are excluded from fleet size calculations.

What are we doing and next steps

We are awaiting Department for Transport’s (DfT) review of PSVAR regulations and their impact on coach operators. While full compliance is expected by 2026, operators running rail replacement services have received exemptions from the Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2020.

One of the main concerns raised by coach operators is that they do not operate as standard public services, they are not open to the public and the needs of the passengers are known in advance.

The Government acknowledges this and has granted temporary exemptions to avoid service disruption. DfT said:

“People should be able to travel as easily and confidently as everyone else, and ensuring vehicles comply with these regulations is an important step in making that possible.

“These temporary exemptions will ensure that vital home-to-school services can continue, but operators must take steps to comply with PSVAR and may not be eligible for exemptions in future if they cannot show their efforts to do so.”

Exemptions for rail replacement services were granted due to concerns about low compliance rates which could lead to significant accessibility issues during railway disruptions. These exemptions aim to maintain flexibility in covering emergency and planned engineering works.

What’s Next?

Though full compliance is currently expected when exemptions expire in 2026, the industry is awaiting the outcome of the PSVAR review.

Operators are inevitably delaying decisions on investment. Whatever the outcome of the review, the current level of exemptions are continually increasing the need for accessibility in fleets. It’s expected that this will continue and planning for compliance now is a surefire way to help futureproof businesses.