TAXI drivers in Dumbarton and the Vale must ensure all cars with capacity for five or more passengers are wheelchair accessible, a council committee has decided.

All taxi drivers must make the transition to a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) when the time comes for a vehicle upgrade with the aim of all taxis on the road being fully accessible in the next 10 years.

The move comes after council officers carried out a consultation of drivers and wheelchair users to determine their views on the availability of WAVs in the area.

Council officer Lawrence Knighton said: “In 2013, the committee decided to aspire towards the region of 20 per cent (of vehicles being WAVs).

“The council took the decision to consult with wheelchair users and taxi driver to get considerations from them.”

He added: “We hope this would cause minimal economic pain to the driver albeit I understand it would cause some.

“We would not be insisting on the change over until the natural time of change for that vehicle so it would be a very gradual process.”

However, Councillor Jonathan McColl said he was puzzled as to why the change was necessary given there had been very few complaints about the number of WAVs in the area.

He added that the issue had been brought before the committee several times as far back as 2007 but it was always deemed to not be a concern.

The leader of the opposition said: “We only have a handful of complaints. We’re not completely out of sync with the rest of the councils yet we keep being told we’re at a risk of discrimination.

“I’m concerned about discriminating against people who aren’t in wheelchairs but are elderly and infirm because they can’t access them.

“I know from Clydebank there are a lot of people like that.”

His concerns of an unnecessary need for changes were backed up by two local taxi drivers, who attended the meeting to address the council themselves.

One told the committee: “[In a year] the least number of WAV calls we’ve done is four, the most we’ve done is seven and we have 17 cars available.

“Certainly they do have problems getting a vehicle at certain times of the night.

“We don’t have a system that’s broken, it works.”

Mr Knighton confirmed the option of leaving the system as it was was on the table for councillors and admitted they were unable to predict the true affect that the changes will have on the taxi industry.

Councillors voted in favour of recommendations.