Accessible and medical transport in Coventry and Warwickshire

Accessible and medical transport in Coventry and Warwickshire

Umar Jahangir | Hampton Travel | Last updated: 4 August 2026

Quick answer: Hampton Travel runs pre-booked accessible and medical transport across Coventry and Warwickshire, including a wheelchair accessible vehicle with a side-loading ramp and four-point M1 restraint. Drivers are DBS-checked and licensed by Coventry City Council. We are licensed private hire, not an ambulance service. Call 0800 061 4661.

Most people looking for this are not looking for a taxi. They are looking for someone reliable to get a parent to an appointment, or a resident to a clinic and back, without it becoming a problem. This page sets out exactly what we do, what we do not do, and where the line is.

What we are, and what we are not

Being clear about this first saves everyone a phone call.

We are a Coventry City Council licensed private hire operator. Every journey is pre-booked with a named driver assigned in advance and a price agreed before travel. Drivers are DBS-checked. We hold transport contracts with Warwickshire County Council.

We are not an ambulance service, and we are not CQC-registered non-emergency patient transport. We do not carry stretcher patients, we do not provide any clinical care during the journey, and we cannot transport anyone whose condition needs monitoring on the way. If a passenger needs medical supervision in transit, that is an NHS patient transport or private ambulance job, not ours, and we will say so rather than take the booking.

What we cover is the large middle ground: a passenger who is medically stable but cannot drive, cannot manage public transport, or cannot be left to a taxi app at 8am on the morning of an appointment.

The wheelchair accessible vehicle

"Wheelchair accessible" is used loosely across the trade. Some operators mean a saloon where a folding manual chair goes in the boot, which only works if the passenger can transfer to a seat. Some mean a van with no proper restraint at all.

The standard to ask any operator for:

• Side or rear ramp taking a powered or non-folding chair into the cabin
• Four-point wheelchair restraint to M1 standard, anchored to the vehicle floor
• A separate three-point lap and shoulder belt for the wheelchair passenger
• A driver trained on the restraint procedure, rather than one asking you to direct them

Our vehicle meets all four. Ask the same four questions of anyone else you call.

Ramp or tail lift

Ours is a side ramp at a gentle gradient. For most powered and manual chairs that is the simpler option: quicker to load, no lift cycle to wait through, no mechanical lift to operate at the kerb. Tail lifts become necessary for very heavy powered chairs, roughly above 180kg including the passenger. If yours is in that range, say so when you book and we will tell you honestly whether we can take it.

Transfers, and who does the lifting

If the passenger can transfer from chair to vehicle seat, the driver assists with the transfer and stows the chair. If the passenger stays in the chair, the driver secures it on the four-point restraint and helps with the lap and shoulder belt.

Drivers do not perform lift transfers. That is not reluctance, it is the correct position: no insured private hire driver should be manually lifting a passenger, and doing it badly injures both people. A lift transfer needs trained mobility staff or a family member present.

This is far and away the most common problem on the day, so it is worth settling at the booking stage rather than on the driveway. Tell us who is doing the lift if one is needed.

Hospital appointments

The most common runs we do are to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Nuffield Health Warwickshire and The Meriden Hospital, from CV postcodes and across Warwickshire.

Two things matter more on a hospital run than on any other journey.

The first is the return. Appointments overrun, constantly, and the return leg is where most transport arrangements fall apart. We do not book a return as a fixed time and leave you to it. Ring the driver when you are actually finished. The waiting is planned into the job rather than charged as a surprise.

The second is repeat appointments. For recurring runs, dialysis, oncology, physiotherapy, outpatient follow-ups, we allocate the same driver to the same passenger wherever the rota allows. For someone anxious or confused, a familiar face every week is the difference between a manageable morning and a bad one. Ask for driver continuity when you book. It costs nothing.

Care homes and supported living

For care homes we can work as a standing arrangement rather than booking by booking: a named contact, agreed pickup windows, the same drivers, and a record of every journey with dates and times against it.

That record matters. If you are ever asked to evidence how a resident got to an appointment and who was driving, guessing after the fact is not good enough. We keep the audit trail as a matter of routine because our council contracts require it, and care homes get the benefit of the same system.

Children and vulnerable passengers

We hold home to school transport contracts with Warwickshire County Council for children with special educational needs, running daily in term time with DBS-checked drivers and passenger assistants.

That work is the most heavily scrutinised transport a private hire operator can be trusted with: safeguarding, DBS, named drivers, a passenger assistant in the vehicle, and a logged audit trail the council can request at any point. It is worth knowing about, because it is the same standard applied to every accessible and medical booking we take.

What to tell us when booking

• Wheelchair type: folding manual, rigid manual, or powered
• Rough combined weight of chair and passenger, if you know it
• Whether the passenger transfers to a seat or travels in the chair
• Whether a carer or family member is travelling too
• Any access requirement at the destination, such as a specific entrance
• For appointments, whether the return time is known or open

None of it is compulsory. All of it makes the day go better.

Notice we need

Twenty-four hours for a routine journey. Forty-eight for a hospital appointment, so the driver can be locked to the slot rather than fitted around other work. The accessible vehicle is a single vehicle, so same-day accessible requests depend entirely on what is already on it. Standard vehicles have far more give.

Booking

Call 0800 061 4661 or request a fixed quote. For care homes, clinics or anywhere booking regularly for several people, ask about a travel account: you top up a balance, journeys draw from it at the price agreed per booking, and you get one statement covering every passenger instead of chasing individual payments.

Hampton Travel is rated 5.0 across 79 verified Google reviews.

Key takeaways:

• Licensed private hire, not an ambulance and not CQC patient transport
• No stretcher patients and no clinical care during the journey
• Wheelchair accessible vehicle with side ramp and four-point M1 restraint
• Drivers do not lift passengers; trained staff or family must do any lift transfer
• Same driver on repeat appointments where the rota allows, on request
• Waiting on overrunning appointments is planned in, not charged as a surprise
• DBS-checked drivers; Warwickshire County Council SEND transport contracts held
• 24 hours notice routine, 48 hours for hospital appointments