Travel & Cars

The Government announcements regarding COVID-19 are having a major impact on the Scheme. Most dealership showrooms are now closed meaning they are unable to accept any orders, manage handovers, or car returns. However they want to reassure you that we will support you where possible to help you remain mobile during this time. Two key points that relate to financial help available include: With less traffic on the roads as a result of the lockdown, will I be eligible for a refund from my Scheme insurance? Yes, as lockdown has led to fewer drivers on the road, the Scheme is seeing a lower level of claims, enabling it to share this saving with customers. We have made this decision in consultation with Motability, the Charity. As a result, we are set to send an insurance-based refund of £50 to all customers. There is no need for customers to contact us in connection with this, as we will automatically issue this insurance refund as soon as possible from the second half of May and throughout June.   I have a Motability Scheme car; how can I get help if I’m in temporary financial need owing to the COVID-19 situation? Motability Scheme customers who are experiencing temporary and exceptional financial need in relation to COVID-19 are able to access an advance of the £600 Good Condition Bonus (GCB) usually paid at the end of a lease. This GCB payment can be brought forward to provide support during the COVID-19 lockdown, ensuring that customers in need have access to money during a period when they may need it most. Please note that customers who choose to take this payment early would not therefore receive a further GCB at the end of contract – a point when some customers like to put this towards an Advance Payment on their new car. As Motability Scheme lease instalments are made through direct payment from the Government, it is not possible to reschedule payments to be repaid later, so this arrangement offers an alternative route to flexibility for customers. To enable us to deal with requests from customers needing exceptional help as quickly and efficiently as possible, we would ask that customers complete our online form to request a call back from a member of our Customer Services team. Alternatively you can call us on 0300 020 5050, but please bear with us, as we are currently experiencing a high volume of calls and you may have to wait longer than usual. Customers who have already received a GCB for their current car clearly won’t be in a position to take advantage of this arrangement. Similarly, customers who lease a scooter or powered wheelchair will be able to gain access to their £100 End of Contract Bonus in the same way.

Eddie Ndopu describes himself as “unapologetically brilliant, black, queer and disabled” and also as, “a living manifestation of possibility”. This 27 year -old South African campaigner for disabled people’s rights is determined to create a world that is truly open to all, and Eddie has been breaking, or at least bending, the rules since his birth. Now, he has set his sights on being the first wheelchair user in space. Edward was born with spinal muscular atrophy and was not expected to live past the age of five. The degenerative condition which is making his muscles weaker every day means that he needs assistance with all of his daily activities. In spite of that, he is currently setting up an NGO to provide disabled people in South Africa with access to better and safer spaces. Most disabled South Africans never even complete basic education, but Eddie’s own perseverance and determination have let him achieve things that most disabled people could not even dream of. His mother worked tirelessly to make sure that he had the same opportunities as his able-bodied counterparts. Thanks to her force, Eddie won himself a place to study at Oxford University. He became the first African with a degenerative disability to graduate from the prestigious university. Now, he wants to be the first wheelchair user in space.  His plan is partly to honour the memory of Steven Hawkins and partly to raise awareness of the capacity of disabled people. Also, he has always felt a great affinity with space, and he hopes that discoveries made during gravity-free travel might discover ways to aid people with degenerative disabilities. Finally, he wants to show to all disabled people that with effort everything is possible. Find out more about Eddies dreams to be the first wheelchair user in space here.

Wheelchair accessible vehicles can be accessed either by a ramp or by a lift. Each one has advantages and disadvantages that should be considered to help you decide which would be the best choice for your vehicle. Most ramps can be extended manually, this makes them less expensive and they require less maintenance, than a lift. It does mean, however, that the wheelchair user will almost certainly require assistance to deploy them, as they can be heavy and require a certain amount of dexterity. A rear entry wheelchair accessible vehicle with a ramp requires quite a large amount of space behind the vehicle in which to extend the ramp and for the wheelchair user to manoeuvre up it. Longer ramps are less steep and therefore easier to get up, but they require more room. A ramp should not have a slope of more than 13-degrees, and while most electric wheelchairs can make it up this grade of slope, be aware that some cannot. Winches can be installed to assist the entry of both manual and electric wheelchairs, but a winch cannot overcome the problem of an overly steep ramp. Descending from the vehicle involves reversing down the sloping ramp, which some people can find unnerving. The edges of the ramp should be raised to guide the wheelchair down, but sometimes, standard ramps are not very wide, so if the wheelchair is large, or particularly wide, a ramp may not be suitable. Lifts, and some ramps, are powered, and operated from a panel located within the vehicle or with a cordless hand-held control.  That means that there are more things that can go wrong with them and that they need a regular maintenance routine. Lifts have the advantage of requiring less operating space, and being able to accommodate larger wheelchairs, but some people feel vulnerable and exposed on them.