UK asylum seekers to be banned from taking taxis to medical appointments

"Asylum seekers will be banned from taking taxis to medical appointments after it was revealed the Home Office spends about 15.8m a year on the service. From February they will have to use alternative transport such as buses, no matter how urgent their medical needs. The government, however, has so far rejected pleas to give asylum seekers free access to public transport, which campaigners have been requesting for a number of years."

"The taxi ban comes as a result of a government review after an investigation by the BBC found that some people had travelled long distances by taxi to get to medical appointments, including one man who said he had taken a 250-mile taxi ride that cost 600 to visit a GP. Long journeys to medical appointments can be the result of an asylum seeker having been moved to a different area, sometimes while undergoing treatment such as chemotherapy."

"Organisations representing those seeking asylum have fought for years for a bus pass that would mean they are not forced to get a taxi when the distances they need to travel are too far to walk. Citizens UK began petitioning the government in 2023 in partnership with a coalition of 25 civil society organisations, saying a bus pass would also enable asylum seekers to take their children to school and get to volunteering placements. Asylum seekers are currently entitled to one return bus journey a week."

Home Office spending on taxi transport for asylum seekers is about £15.8m a year. From February asylum seekers will be banned from taking taxis to medical appointments and must use alternative transport such as buses, regardless of urgency. The government has rejected calls to give asylum seekers free public transport. Investigations found some people travelled long distances by taxi for appointments, including a reported 250‑mile, £600 ride to a GP. Frequent relocations can force long journeys, sometimes during treatments such as chemotherapy. Campaigners petitioned for bus passes and a pilot free bus scheme began in Oxford in November 2024. Asylum seekers currently receive one return bus journey per week.

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