The city of Nottingham is largely pedestrian friendly, but we know that getting around can challenging for people with access needs. We hope the following information will help you decide on the best method of transport for travelling around during your time here.
Nottinghamshire has two award-winning bus operators and all bus drivers receive regular disability awareness training. We also boast the first fully accessible tram network in the country. Below we have included some information regarding accessibility on these services, but please contact the transport service directly if you have any other questions.
Please note: many transport services can provide extra assistance for travel if booked in advance.
Parking
If you are travelling by car, there are a multitude of Blue Badge parking spaces throughout the county within the town centres, hotels and attractions. You can look on this map to see where the Blue Badge Accessible parking spaces are located in Nottingham.
Blind and Partially Sighted Visitors
- Audio announcements have been installed on every bus in the fleet, which announces the next stop the bus is approaching.
- Call the Nottingham City Transport travel centre on on 0115 950 60 70 to let them know when you are travelling and where from, and they will let the relevant driver know.
- If you're an iPhone user with VoiceOver, you may find 'Stop the Bus' a useful feature in the NCTX Buses app. Here you can notify Nottingham City Transport of a bus you plan to catch and they will alert the driver.
- Nottingham City Transport drivers are trained to stop for people with visual impairments and state their service number and destination.
- Trained assistance dogs are carried free of charge on every bus.
- For more information, please call Nottingham City Transport on 0115 950 60 70 or email travelcentre@nctx.co.uk.
- Over 90% of Trent Barton buses have audio announcements, explaining the route destination and next stop.
- Trent Barton bus drivers are trained in how to assist partially sighted and blind travellers using the bus.
- NET Trams use high contrast flooring in front of the carriage doors to make the exits more visible.
- Each tram has four sets of wide double doors with white strips for enhanced visibility feature on each tram.
- NET Trams play warning sounds for when doors are opening and closing, along with audio announcements detailing the destination and which stop is next.
- NET Tram advises visually impaired customers that require assistance to contact their customer service team by telephoning 0115 824 6060. With a 24 hour notice period, NET will try to arrange for a member of their team to meet you and explain how to use the stop facilities and the tram.
- The tram timetable is available in an accessible format on the NET Tram website If you require the timetable in a different format, please email NET Tram's customer service team at info@thetram.net or call 0115 824 6060.
East Midlands Railway
- East Midlands Railway works with Passenger Assist, a UK-wide service which allows you to book help on any train or at any station. Using it means they are aware of when you’re travelling, where you’re seated, and any connections you have to make.
- Assistance dogs are welcome to travel free of change on East Midland Rail trains, and you can travel in any part of the train with your assistance dog. If you inform EMR that you have an assistance dog when you book, they can find a seat reservation to suit.
Mobility Scooters & Wheelchair Users
- All NCT buses meet the legal requirement to have a bay which can accommodate a ‘standard reference wheelchair’.
- Buses are designed to carry one wheelchair at a time. Nottingham City Transport gives priority to a wheelchair user in their designated bays, and drivers will do their best to make sure this happens.
- The driver will deploy the ramp or kneel the bus (whichever is appropriate or requested).
- Nottingham City Transport buses are fitted with specific alert bells in the bay area, so the driver knows a customer from the bay will be getting off and they can offer assistance.
- Nottingham City Transport classes some mobility scooters as wheelchairs. Under the CPT Code for Mobility Scooters “Class 2” scooters can be carried on their buses.
- Customers using a Mobility Scooter on Nottingham City Transport buses need to have a permit, which is issued after they have assessed the scooter and provided training to use it on the bus.
- For more information, please call Nottingham City Transport on 0115 950 60 70 or email travelcentre@nctx.co.uk.
- 100% of Trent Barton buses are wheelchair accessible.
- All Trent Barton bus drivers are provided with training to help them assist travellers using wheelchairs.
- Every NET Tram is 100% low floor, meaning there are no steps to deal with.
- There are two dedicated spaces on every tram which have a help button and a blue stop request button at an appropriate height.
- All categories of mobility scooters are permitted to travel on the Tram as long as they can safely board and exit the tram and then park in the wheelchair space.
East Midlands Rail
- There are spaces for wheelchairs on all East Midlands Rail trains. You can bring your wheelchair on board as long as it’s: No more than 700mm wide, no more than 1200mm long, and no more than 300kg in weight, including passenger
- Powered mobility scooters are often unsuitable to be taken on board trains. For safety reasons, you will only be allowed to bring an unfolded mobility scooter onto our services if you hold a Scooter Card.
- East Midlands Rail staff are trained and ready to help you select and reserve the most appropriate seating for your needs, whether that’s an accessible seat or a space for your wheelchair. Reserving your seat in advance is recommended.
Pushchairs
- Nottingham City Transport allows unfolded pushchairs to be carried on their buses, when the bay is not required by a wheelchair user, up to the maximum number shown on the bus. If the bay is full, the driver will give you the opportunity to collapse the pushchair and store it in the luggage rack. If you are unable to collapse your pushchair or relocate to another part of the bus, the driver can issue you with a complimentary ticket to allow you to board the next bus.
- Wheelchairs have priority over their bay and you may be asked to collapse your pushchair to allow a wheelchair user to board the bus.
- Please be aware as to whether your pushchair is classed as one or two pushchairs. (Double buggies are sometimes classes as two pushchairs depending on their width.)
- For more information, please call Nottingham City Transport on 0115 950 60 70 or email travelcentre@nctx.co.uk.
- The Trent Barton website states: ‘Small folding pushchairs may be carried free provided that, in the driver’s opinion, they will not interfere with passengers' comfort and/or safety. The Company reserves the right to refuse to carry any pushchair.’
Journey Assistance Cards
The Journey Assistance Card has been developed specifically to help passengers with hidden disabilities use public transport with confidence and remove the potential conflict or upsetting situations that can occur on boarding the bus.
- Nottingham City Transport drivers are all trained regarding different passenger requirements and how to deal sympathetically when presented with a Journey Assistance Card.
- Trent Barton bus drivers are provided with a training session regarding hidden disabilities.
Park & Ride
There are over 100 parking disabled parking spaces available at the Park & Ride sites, all of which are allocated close to the tram stops. For a full list of Park & Ride sites, please visit our Getting Around page.
Hearing Loops
Nottingham City Transport are now installing hearing loop systems to their buses, with their fleet of electric buses and most recent double deckers fitted. If you wear a hearing aid, switch your device to the 'T' position to use the hearing loops on their buses. The hearing loops are located near the cab door and in the wheelchair bay area. You can find a list of buses with hearing loops here: https://www.nctx.co.uk/hearing-loop.
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