The Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023

Time of application

5.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3)—

(a) in relation to a vehicle first used to provide local services on or after 1st October 2019, these Regulations apply from 1st October 2024;

(b) in relation to a vehicle first used to provide local services on or after 1st October 2014 and on or before 30th September 2019, these Regulations apply from 1st October 2025;

(c) in relation to a vehicle first used to provide local services on or after 1st January 1973 and on or before 30th September 2014, these Regulations apply from 1st October 2026.

(2) In relation to an applicable community bus service, these Regulations apply from 1st October 2024.

(3) In relation to a partially compliant vehicle—

(a) these Regulations, other than regulations 8(2), 10, 11, 13 and 14, apply from 1st October 2023 and regulation 6 shall be construed accordingly;

(b) these Regulations apply in their entirety from 1st October 2031.

(4) In this regulation—

(a) “applicable community bus service” means a community bus service to which these Regulations apply by virtue of regulation 4(2)(g);

(b) “partially compliant vehicle” means, subject to paragraph (5), a vehicle on which, immediately before 1st October 2023, persons travelling on the vehicle are being provided with information in accordance with regulations 7, 8(1) and 9, in both audio and visual form, provided that—

(i) the information which is provided in audio form is, when measured from at least 51% of the passenger seats on the vehicle, or, where the vehicle has more than one passenger deck, from at least 51% of the passenger seats on each passenger deck of the vehicle—

(aa) at least 3 decibels louder than the pre-measured ambient volume or, where the vehicle has adaptive volume control, at least 3 decibels louder than the live-measured ambient volume;

(bb) notwithstanding paragraph (4)(b)(i)(aa), no louder than 84 decibels;

(ii) in circumstances where there are no standing passengers on the vehicle, there is an uninterrupted line of sight between at least one display of the visual information and at least 51% of the passenger seats on the vehicle or, where the vehicle has more than one passenger deck, between at least one display of the visual information and at least 51% of the passenger seats on each passenger deck of the vehicle; and

(c) “adaptive volume control”, “live-measured ambient volume” and “pre-measured ambient volume” have the meanings given in regulation 13.

(5) If a vehicle which is a partially compliant vehicle ceases to meet one or more of the requirements in paragraph (4)(b) on or after 1st October 2023 then, with effect from the first date of such cessation, these Regulations shall apply to the vehicle on the basis that it is not a partially compliant vehicle.