The Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) have been hanging over the PSV industry for the last 26 years.  The legislation prescribes accessibility requirements for public service vehicles.  Since its introduction in 2000 the starting point has been that all new buses and coaches designed to carry more than 22 passengers used on local or scheduled services have been required to be fully accessible in accordance with the terms specified in the regulations.

Initially the regulations did not apply to vehicles manufactured before October 2000, and there was a staged roll out of the regulations for older vehicles, the last one of which ‘expired’ in January 2020.  After this date only “Home to School” services (HTS) and Rail Replacement (RR) services were exempt from the regulations.  That exemption is due to come to an end in July this year (2026).

No Exemptions beyond 31^st July 2026

Recently the ministers for transport, Lord Hendy (Minister of State for Rail) and Mr. Simon Lightwood (Minister of State for Roads & Buses) wrote to industry stakeholders to confirm that there would be no exemptions beyond 31^st July 2026 from the PSV Accessible Information Regulations (AIR) for coaches on in-scope rail replacement work and to advise the industry that from that date onwards compliance with the regulations will be mandatory.

The letter was sent to the Managing Directors (MDs) of Train Operating Companies (TOCs) as well as PSV industry representatives.  AIR requires audio-visual information to be provided for passengers on in-scope rail replacement services.  The exemption from AIR for coaches used on in-scope rail replacement was created in recognition of supply chain constraints and the time requirements for retrofitting older vehicles to achieve compliance.

Lord Hendy and Mr. Lightwood note in their letter that the data on the number of vehicles that are now AIR ready indicates that compliance across the board is unlikely to happen in time for the 31^st July 2026 deadline, but state that “nevertheless, we expect the industry to be ready [for] when exemptions end”.   The letter also notes that TOCs are not fully utilising coaches that are AIR compliant on in-scope rail replacements and instead are ‘prioritising cheaper, non-compliant options over the more expensive compliant vehicles’.

The letter asks all TOC MDs to reply to the letter in February with an outline of the specific (and measurable) steps they are taking to achieve full compliance, with a further update requested for March 2026.  The letter states that whilst TOC MDs do not have direct control of the provision of rail replacement vehicles – that being down to the various operators who own the vehicles – it notes that they are “not passive participants in the market and should be looking to utilise commercial procurement and planning levers wherever possible”.

As well as the PSC AIR exemption ending at the end of July 2026, the PSVAR medium term exemptions are due to expire on the same date.  The letter to the industry from Lord Hendy and Mr. Lightwood does not refer to that fact.

If you would like some further information on PSVAR, you can read previous articles on the regulations here and here.  Alternatively, please feel free to call us on 01279 818280 or click here to send us an email.  We are here to help.

© Richard Pelly March 2026