Accessibility in taxis and VTCs: what an adapted vehicle is, what Spanish law requires and how to book a wheelchair transfer
Spanish transport accessibility rules require city councils to ensure that at least five per cent of taxi licences are adapted vehicles, with a ramp or lift, space and anchorages so a person travels in their own wheelchair with the approved belt. VTCs have no such legal minimum, but they do have the general duty not to discriminate, and platforms working with adapted vehicles offer them by prior booking, which is the way to guarantee that the vehicle that arrives is the right one. An accessible transfer is booked by saying what wheelchair and what needs there are; the driver secures the chair with the anchorages, assists on the ramp and the price is the one published for the trip, with no supplement for the adaptation.
Written by Ridelta - Taxi y VTC · reviewed on 27 October 2026
What does Spanish law require on accessible taxis?
The royal decree on basic accessibility conditions for access to and use of transport modes sets, for taxis, that city councils promote that at least five per cent of licences correspond to adapted vehicles, and that those taxis give preferential service to people with disabilities while still serving other users. It also defines what the vehicle must be like: access by ramp or lift, interior space for the wheelchair facing forwards, anchorages to secure it and a seat belt for its occupant, with the dimensions and strengths set by the technical standard. Many councils have gone further with their own by-laws and adaptation grants.
The general act on the rights of people with disabilities adds the principle: universal accessibility is a condition of public transport, and refusing service or treating a person worse because of their disability is a punishable discrimination. That holds for taxis and VTCs alike: a driver may not refuse to carry someone because they use a wheelchair if the vehicle can transport them — a folding chair in the boot of any car, for instance — nor charge them more for it.
What is an adapted vehicle and how does the wheelchair travel?
An adapted vehicle or eurotaxi is normally a converted people carrier or passenger van: lowered floor or folding rear ramp, sometimes a lift platform, high roof, and an interior area with floor anchorages where the wheelchair is secured with four approved straps and its occupant wears a three-point belt anchored to the vehicle, not the chair. The person thus travels in their own wheelchair, without transferring to a seat, facing forwards, and the driver is the one who deploys the ramp, loads the chair, secures it and checks the belt before setting off; it is part of the service, not a favour.
Not every wheelchair fits every adapted vehicle: large electric chairs, mobility scooters and chairs with reclined backrests have dimensions and weights some vehicles do not accept, and the technical standard sets the reference dimensions of the wheelchair every adapted vehicle must be able to carry. That is why when booking you must say what the chair is: manual or electric, approximate dimensions, whether it folds and, where relevant, the weight. With that, the platform assigns a vehicle that accepts it, instead of finding out at the door.
And if the chair folds or the person can transfer to a seat?
Then no adapted vehicle is needed: a folding manual chair travels in the boot of a saloon or people carrier, and the person travels in the seat with the belt, with the driver's help for the transfer if needed and requested. That is the case for many older people and for those who use the chair for long distances but walk a few steps. What changes is the vehicle — one with enough boot space and wide doors — and the help, not the type of service, and it is worth saying so when booking so a small car does not turn up.
What a driver may not do, and a platform should not ask of them, is lift a person bodily into a car: it is neither safe nor dignified, and if the person cannot transfer to the seat by themselves or with light support, the right vehicle is the adapted one. This platform's accessible transfer page explains how to book each case.
How do companions, the assistance dog and luggage travel?
An adapted vehicle usually has, besides the wheelchair space, between two and four seats for companions, and the transfer price is per car, so accompanying costs no more. The assistance dog travels beside its user, on the floor, with no supplement, as the piece on animals explains. Luggage — a suitcase, the walker, the portable oxygen cylinder, the pressure cushion — must be declared when booking, because the wheelchair area takes the space that in an ordinary car is the boot and the platform needs to know what else is coming aboard.
For regular transfers — rehabilitation, dialysis, a day centre —, the recurring service with an adapted vehicle and a regular driver is what works best: the driver knows the chair, the anchorages it uses and the building's access, and the person does not have to explain it every time. It is contracted like any fixed service, with an agreed price per service and a monthly invoice, and the piece on recurring transfers explains how.
How is an accessible transfer booked and what should the user expect?
In advance and in detail. Prior booking is, for an adapted vehicle, a necessity and not just a rule: adapted vehicles are a small part of any fleet and must be assigned with time. When booking you state the type of wheelchair and its dimensions, whether the person travels in the chair or transfers to a seat, how many companions, whether an assistance dog is coming, the luggage and any specific need — help at the entrance, a difficult step at the destination door —; the platform confirms the vehicle and the price, which is the trip's with no supplement for the adaptation.
The user should expect the driver to arrive on time, deploy the ramp, secure the chair with the four anchorages and the belt, drive with the smoothness a person in a wheelchair needs on bends and speed bumps, and help them off at the destination to a safe spot. And they should be able to complain if something fails: the disability act provides a regime of offences and penalties, and each region's disability offices receive complaints. This platform's accessible transfer page details how to book; this piece explains the right behind it.
Frequently asked questions
How many adapted taxis must a city have?
National transport accessibility rules set that at least five per cent of taxi licences be adapted vehicles, with preferential service to people with disabilities; some councils require more.
Does a transfer in an adapted vehicle cost more?
Not for the adaptation: the price is the one published for the trip, per car, and charging a supplement for disability would be discriminatory. If the vehicle has more seats or a higher category, what the tariff says for that vehicle applies.
Can I travel in my own wheelchair?
Yes, in an adapted vehicle, secured with the approved anchorages and with a belt anchored to the vehicle. If the chair folds and you can transfer to a seat, a car with a roomy boot and wide doors is enough.
What must I say when booking an accessible transfer?
The type of wheelchair and its dimensions, whether you travel in it or transfer to a seat, companions, assistance dog, luggage and any specific help; in advance, because adapted vehicles are assigned with time.
Can a driver refuse to carry me because I use a wheelchair?
No, if the vehicle can carry you; refusing service on grounds of disability is a punishable discrimination under the general act on the rights of people with disabilities.
Sources
- Real Decreto 1544/2007, condiciones básicas de accesibilidad y no discriminación para el acceso y utilización de los modos de transporte: anexo VII, transporte en taxi adaptado (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2013, Ley General de derechos de las personas con discapacidad y de su inclusión social (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- UNE 26494, vehículos de carretera: vehículos para el transporte de personas con movilidad reducida (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Ministerio de Derechos Sociales · Oficina de Atención a la Discapacidad: quejas y denuncias (consulted on 27 October 2026)
How we write, where the figures come from and how we correct an error: editorial policy.
Percentages and technical requirements are those of national rules; many councils and regions add their own. This piece explains the right and the general workings; how to book an accessible transfer on this platform is on its accessible transfer page.