A Pushchair Built for Manual Wheelchair Users Goes to 20 UK Families

In May 2025, the UK disability charity Designability said it had provided 20 families across the UK with an accessible pushchair (the British word for a stroller) that a manual wheelchair user can push and steer. The families are part of a six-month trial, and they keep the pushchairs once it ends.¹

Fiona Dick, one of the participants, described the problem in the charity’s announcement: “when you see other mums out on their own, it’s heartbreaking. I’d just like to be able to go out for a coffee or to the shops or the park, but you can’t as you can’t push a pushchair whilst pushing a wheelchair.”¹

How it works

The design starts with an ordinary pushchair and replaces the rear wheels and the footbrake assembly. Designability says that means any conventional pushchair can become an accessible one, and it designed the system with mass manufacture in mind.¹

According to a Designability video on TikTok, the wheels move freely when the pushchair is connected to a wheelchair. When it is disconnected, the wheels lock and it works as a standard pushchair for other family members.⁷

Each trial family received a Mamas & Papas pushchair adapted with the new parts. The charity worked with the company to meet British safety standards.¹ The pushchair completed safety testing in March 2023 against British Standard BS EN 1888.²

From one family to 20

The first accessible pushchair went to Ali Nye, a mother of three, in autumn 2024. Twenty more were then planned for early the following year.⁵ Those handovers followed earlier user trials and several design awards, including Best Design for Humanity in the European Product Design Awards and a 2024 GOOD DESIGN Award for transportation.¹

Designability calls it the world’s first accessible pushchair, which is the charity’s own claim.¹

“It is our most requested product, and we estimate that there are around 20,000 disabled parents in the UK alone who could benefit,” Matt Ford, Designability’s Director of Design & Innovation, said in the announcement. The 20,000 figure is the charity’s own estimate.¹

What it might cost

Designability says it is looking to sell the accessible pushchair for £699 (about $900), a similar level to non-accessible pushchairs. The price would include the parts and labor to adapt the rear wheels and brakes.²

That price is still a plan. The charity’s product page says that within the next 12 months, UK buyers will have a chance to purchase one as part of a limited run.²