Platform Lift or Passenger Lift


Platform Lift or Passenger Lift – How to Choose?

Tower Lifts is all in favour of the growing range of lifts available to our clients, but we fully recognise that selecting the right one for your environment can be difficult. Choosing between a platform lift or passenger lift can feel particularly fraught, as they share many of the same characteristics. So we’ve come up with some clear guidelines to help you navigate the regulations and specifications.


What is a Passenger Lift For?

We all encounter these regularly. Passenger lifts are most commonly used in multi-storey buildings either for work or retail. Their purpose is to carry people directly to the floor they wish to travel to, and to save congestion on stairways. Passenger lifts are now increasingly found in residential settings, either as an aid to access, or as a luxury lifestyle enhancement.

Passenger lifts may be large or small, traction or hydraulic, bespoke or standard – but they are all required to meet the Lifts Directive which governs the safety and standardisation of vertical transport. A passenger lift will normally travel at a speed of 17 seconds between floors and will carry between 3-33 passengers.

What is a Platform Lift For?

Platform lifts are designed to transport people who use wheelchairs between floors. Inclined lifts provide transport up flights of stairs; step lifts offer access up short flights of steps, or over split-level flooring, and vertical platform lifts use a cabin design to move people between floors. Platform lifts can be installed inside or outside a building.

Platform lifts (also known as low rise lifts) do not require a pit shaft for installation. As a result, they are regulated by the Machinery Directive, and cannot travel any faster than 0.15MPS. These lifts are normally installed in commercial or residential buildings with between 2-4 floors and can carry between 1 wheelchair user and 5 people.

Platform Lift or Passenger Lift – Which Should You Choose?

The two different types of lifts are distinguished by speed of travel, regulatory body, and size restrictions. Here’s Tower Lifts’ quick guide to choosing between the two:

Choose a platform lift if:

  • You are looking for a high-quality solution to disabled access.
  • You’re future proofing your home.
  • Residential access for independent living is required.
  • Budget restrictions, or building challenges require an alternative to a passenger lift.

Choose a passenger lift if:

  • You require reliable and comfortable travel between floors.
  • The lift is constantly in use by a large volume of people.
  • A lift is the primary means of transport in the building.
  • You wish to differentiate your home and add to ease of access.

Working With Tower Lifts

The Tower Lifts team has been designing and installing both passenger lifts and platform lifts for nearly twenty years. We are happy to be involved in the decision-making process, and regularly provide tailored solutions for our clients, whether residential or commercial. Our primary concerns are passenger safety, which drives every decision we make, high-quality engineering, and compliance.


Would you like to talk to a Tower Lift engineer about whether to choose a platform lift or passenger lift? Call us today on 01525 601099


Tower Lifts carry out design and installation on a varied range of lifts throughout the UK including:

Domestic Lifts • Food Lifts • Bespoke Platform Lifts • Service Lifts • Platform Lifts • Goods Lifts • Scenic Lifts • Heavy Duty / Car Lifts • Passenger Lifts • Dumbwaiter Lifts • MRL Lifts • Fire lifts • Residential Lifts • low-Headroom Lift