ACCESSIBLE TAXI FROM HEATHROW AIRPORT TO KENSINGTON

s45

Hi, Can anyone advise me how much would it cost to hire an Accessible Taxi from Heathrow Airport to Kensington High Street?  I have a family of 4  visiting from Vancouver with a disabled daughter with an electric wheelchair and a few bags of luggage .  They may also need to hire a taxi while in London and a couple of telephone numbers of a reliable taxi would be most helpful.  Thanks a lot. 

Emmia

You/they can use FreeNow an app to get black cabs to come to you wherever you/they are. Black cabs should be accessible. 

For the airport transfer I've used Addison Lee a few times, but I'm not disabled / don't have mobility issues.

mr_stripey

I'd expect it to be around £75 + tip. Maybe a bit more if it is at peak time

Emmia

The MSE way would be to take the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Paddington which should be fully accessible with lifts etc. and then to take a taxi from Paddington to High St Kensington, but as it's a group the taxi fare direct might be cheaper.

Albermarle

When you go to the taxi rank at Heathrow, there are only officially licensed  Heathrow  'Black Cabs' waiting. 
It is claimed that all Black cabs are wheelchair accessible, so maybe you could just go to the taxi rank.
Two points here though;
These are the most expensive taxis to take to Central London.
I would be thinking an electric wheelchair could be much bulkier than a normal wheelchair, so maybe there could be problems. Also may struggle with three people + wheelchair passenger + luggage.

From a cost point of view most locals book a minicab ( basically not an official black cab), who will pick you up from a car park very close to the terminal, or call an Uber ( or as suggested take the train).

For peace of mind I think I would book an accessible minicab, and check in advance they can cope with a bigger wheelchair. Plus you could ask for a bigger vehicle, that can seat more people. There are various operators in the area, usually based in one of the areas around the airport. So could be in Slough, Windsor, Egham, Staines, Ashford etc. Also I found these.

Wheelchair Taxis London | Disability Friendly Black Cabs

Although they call themselves Black Cabs, they will not be officially licensed for Heathrow, so I presume they would pick you up in one of the Terminal short stay car parks, which are very easily accessible with lifts etc.

teddysmum

I can imagine a black cab accommodating a manual wheelchair or an electric one like mine, which folds, but what if the person's chair is one of the more substantial types ? 

notional

A cab called a Eurotaxi is a much better option than a standard wheelchair accessible black cab, the person faces forwards, and there's more room. Nevertheless the number of people you mention will not fit in. 

You'd be better off booking a Euro and one person travelling with her and the luggage (the driver will get her in and out, they don't need to do anything). The other members of the group can then travel into town on public transport. 

⁰

Spoonie_Turtle

teddysmum said:

I can imagine a black cab accommodating a manual wheelchair or an electric one like mine, which folds, but what if the person's chair is one of the more substantial types ? 

It depends how tall the person is.  I know someone with OI who does fine in them, but she has a very short torso and I'm not sure how much taller someone could be using a typical powerchair and still fit.  I also know of someone very tall who has to specifically request a rear-access WAV and even then he barely fits in one of those, there's not much clearance between his head and the roof!

I wonder if OP's friends could use public transport - afaik Kensington doesn't have any nearby accessible tube stations but TfL can book an accessible taxi from the nearest accessible station (Earl's Court, maybe?) to the destination station.  When they did it for me it was a larger taxi; I don't think they knew I was ambulatory but even if they had, the four of us would have struggled to fit in a black cab with me out of my (non crash-tested) chair. 
I did actually look through my messages when this thread was first posted to see if I could find the name of the company they used, but alas no joy.

Actually OP, Heathrow to Earl's Court is a straight run on the Piccadilly line, then a taxi to High Street Kensington could do it.  Then they could take note of the company for use while they're here.

Emmia

Spoonie_Turtle said:

teddysmum said:

I can imagine a black cab accommodating a manual wheelchair or an electric one like mine, which folds, but what if the person's chair is one of the more substantial types ? 

It depends how tall the person is.  I know someone with OI who does fine in them, but she has a very short torso and I'm not sure how much taller someone could be using a typical powerchair and still fit.  I also know of someone very tall who has to specifically request a rear-access WAV and even then he barely fits in one of those, there's not much clearance between his head and the roof!

I wonder if OP's friends could use public transport - afaik Kensington doesn't have any nearby accessible tube stations but TfL can book an accessible taxi from the nearest accessible station (Earl's Court, maybe?) to the destination station.  When they did it for me it was a larger taxi; I don't think they knew I was ambulatory but even if they had, the four of us would have struggled to fit in a black cab with me out of my (non crash-tested) chair. 
I did actually look through my messages when this thread was first posted to see if I could find the name of the company they used, but alas no joy.

Actually OP, Heathrow to Earl's Court is a straight run on the Piccadilly line, then a taxi to High Street Kensington could do it.  Then they could take note of the company for use while they're here.

Earls Court isn't an accessible station (and the Piccadilly line takes FOREVER).  High St Kensington also isn't accessible...

Paddington is on the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow, is accessible with lifts, and is much faster - you can either then taxi or take the Circle and District line  from Paddington 

OP it's worth downloading the TFL Go app, which has a tube map showing the level of accessibility at the stations, unfortunately if you want flat access train to street, you will be limited in the stations that you can use.

Spoonie_Turtle

Emmia said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

teddysmum said:

I can imagine a black cab accommodating a manual wheelchair or an electric one like mine, which folds, but what if the person's chair is one of the more substantial types ? 

It depends how tall the person is.  I know someone with OI who does fine in them, but she has a very short torso and I'm not sure how much taller someone could be using a typical powerchair and still fit.  I also know of someone very tall who has to specifically request a rear-access WAV and even then he barely fits in one of those, there's not much clearance between his head and the roof!

I wonder if OP's friends could use public transport - afaik Kensington doesn't have any nearby accessible tube stations but TfL can book an accessible taxi from the nearest accessible station (Earl's Court, maybe?) to the destination station.  When they did it for me it was a larger taxi; I don't think they knew I was ambulatory but even if they had, the four of us would have struggled to fit in a black cab with me out of my (non crash-tested) chair. 
I did actually look through my messages when this thread was first posted to see if I could find the name of the company they used, but alas no joy.

Actually OP, Heathrow to Earl's Court is a straight run on the Piccadilly line, then a taxi to High Street Kensington could do it.  Then they could take note of the company for use while they're here.

Earls Court isn't an accessible station (and the Piccadilly line takes FOREVER).  High St Kensington also isn't accessible...

Paddington is on the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow, is accessible with lifts, and is much faster - you can either then taxi or take the Circle and District line  from Paddington 

OP it's worth downloading the TFL Go app, which has a tube map showing the level of accessibility at the stations, unfortunately if you want flat access train to street, you will be limited in the stations that you can use.

TfL Go says Earl's Court is step-free with level boarding.  (And obviously High St. Ken isn't, which is why TfL would have to book a taxi for them.)  I didn't know about the relative speed of the Piccadilly line though.

[Where would they get to on the circle or district lines from Paddington?  Nearest accessible stations are King's Cross, Earl's Court, or Victoria, but those lines are only accessible northbound at Paddington according to the app.]

Agree with the app recommendation - it also shows in fairly real-time where lifts are out at stations that are usually accessible, line closures, etc.

Emmia

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Emmia said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

teddysmum said:

I can imagine a black cab accommodating a manual wheelchair or an electric one like mine, which folds, but what if the person's chair is one of the more substantial types ? 

It depends how tall the person is.  I know someone with OI who does fine in them, but she has a very short torso and I'm not sure how much taller someone could be using a typical powerchair and still fit.  I also know of someone very tall who has to specifically request a rear-access WAV and even then he barely fits in one of those, there's not much clearance between his head and the roof!

I wonder if OP's friends could use public transport - afaik Kensington doesn't have any nearby accessible tube stations but TfL can book an accessible taxi from the nearest accessible station (Earl's Court, maybe?) to the destination station.  When they did it for me it was a larger taxi; I don't think they knew I was ambulatory but even if they had, the four of us would have struggled to fit in a black cab with me out of my (non crash-tested) chair. 
I did actually look through my messages when this thread was first posted to see if I could find the name of the company they used, but alas no joy.

Actually OP, Heathrow to Earl's Court is a straight run on the Piccadilly line, then a taxi to High Street Kensington could do it.  Then they could take note of the company for use while they're here.

Earls Court isn't an accessible station (and the Piccadilly line takes FOREVER).  High St Kensington also isn't accessible...

Paddington is on the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow, is accessible with lifts, and is much faster - you can either then taxi or take the Circle and District line  from Paddington 

OP it's worth downloading the TFL Go app, which has a tube map showing the level of accessibility at the stations, unfortunately if you want flat access train to street, you will be limited in the stations that you can use.

TfL Go says Earl's Court is step-free with level boarding.  (And obviously High St. Ken isn't, which is why TfL would have to book a taxi for them.)  I didn't know about the relative speed of the Piccadilly line though.

[Where would they get to on the circle or district lines from Paddington?  Nearest accessible stations are King's Cross, Earl's Court, or Victoria, but those lines are only accessible northbound at Paddington according to the app.]

Agree with the app recommendation - it also shows in fairly real-time where lifts are out at stations that are usually accessible, line closures, etc.

The Piccadilly line is incredibly slow, frustratingly so in fact. The proximity of the hotel to stations wil be important - how far is it from tube station they might want to use?