What Is the Difference Between A Wheelchair And Transport Chair?

What Is the Difference Between a Transport Chair and a Wheelchair?

A transport wheelchair is a light-duty mobility device that can be pushed from behind.

On the other hand, a wheelchair can either be pushed from behind or propelled forward by the person sitting in the chair—thanks to its large back wheels, which can be reached by the person sitting in the seat.

The Major Differences Between A Wheelchair and Transport Chair

The short answer above is fine as far as it goes, but there are some other important differences between transport and wheelchairs, which we’ll get into in the sections that follow. Let’s start by offering a more in-depth answer to the question, “What is a transport wheelchair?”

Transport chairs were designed with two things in mind. First, as the name implies, ease of transport. That means that they tend to be smaller and lighter than standard wheelchairs. They offer a smaller folded footprint that can be more easily fit into the trunks of full-sized sedans or other vehicles and are easier to maneuver, owing to their relatively lighter weight.

Don’t let their lighter weight fool you, though. You can find just as many different transport wheelchair sizes as standard wheelchairs, including bariatric and pediatric transport chairs.

The other differences can best be identified by comparing the transport wheelchair to the standard wheelchair side by side, which we’ll do next.

Standard Wheelchair vs. Transport Chair

Wheel Size Differences

The transport chair can easily be distinguished from the standard wheelchair by glancing at the rear wheels. Transport chairs have small rear wheels that are impossible for the person sitting in the chair to reach (generally, the front and rear wheels of a transport chair tend to be the same size). That matters because gripping the rear wheels on a standard wheelchair is how the person sitting in it propels the chair forward.  Standard wheelchairs can then be differentiated at a glance, courtesy of their oversized rear wheels.

Braking Differences

Another significant difference is that some (but by no means all) transport chairs have brakes on the handles on the back, enabling the person pushing it to apply the brakes more easily. In general, chairs with handbrakes like these can better navigate steep slopes and a wider variety of outdoor terrains, a topic we’ll cover in brief next.

Handling Differences

In general, transport chairs, with their smaller wheels, are less able to navigate rough outdoor terrain than a robust standard wheelchair designed for outdoor use. That said, handbrakes on some models are reasonably well suited to navigating slopes, provided the surface is relatively flat (pavement or very hard-packed earth).

Comfort Level

Neither wheelchairs nor transport chairs were designed with comfort foremost in mind, but of the two, wheelchairs tend to be more comfortable and, thus, better suited to longer-duration sitting. Transport chairs are fine for short trips of 1-3 hours. But much beyond that, it will get uncomfortable, whereas a top-of-the-line wheelchair with extra padding and a recline function could provide a surprising level of comfort, even if the person using it is in it for most of the day.

Adjustability

In general, wheelchairs offer more fine-tuning adjustments than transport chairs, allowing the sitter to customize the chair for a better fit and overall level of comfort. There is some overlap here. You can find deluxe transport chairs that offer relatively more adjustment options than bargain-priced standard wheelchairs, but if you look at the broad spectrum of both types of products, the above holds true far more often than not.

Transformations

A small minority of transport chairs are designed in such a way that you can, by making a few adjustments, transform them into rollators, which are essentially “wheeled walkers.”  We have never found a standard wheelchair engineered in this way.

Having said that, a small number of standard wheelchairs have interchangeable rear wheels, which allow them to be turned into transport chairs in minutes. 

Here’s a summary of the information above, presented in table format:

Chair Characteristic	Transport Chair	Standard Wheelchair
Smaller Footprint/Easier To Transport	✘
Large Rear Wheels		✘
Some Models with Handbrakes on the Back of the Chair	✘
Relatively More Adjustment Options		✘
Relatively More Comfortable		✘
Generally Better Able to Handle a Wide Variety of Outdoor Terrains		✘
Can Be Propelled by Either the Person Sitting in the Chair or Someone Pushing		✘
Can Only Be Propelled by Someone Pushing the Chair	✘
Ideally Suited for Short Duration Sitting (1-3 Hours)	✘
Better Suited for Longer Duration Sitting		✘

Wheelchair and Transport Chair Conclusion

As you can see then, there are surprising differences between a wheelchair and a transport chair. Regarding which one is “right” for you, it’s not a question of a transport chair or wheelchair unless your needs are very short-term. In our view, here are the most likely use cases and the corresponding optimal choices:

Use Case	Optimal Choice (Wheelchair or Transport Chair)
You suffer a temporary, relatively short-term injury, but no assistant is available.	Transport chair
Both.  You’ll want a transport chair for short trips away from home and a wheelchair for day-to-day use and longer-duration sitting	Wheelchair
You have a long-term mobility issue	Both.  You’ll want a transport chair for short trips away from home and a wheelchair for day-to-day use and longer-duration sitting.

If you need a transport chair, a wheelchair, or both, be sure to check out our wheelchair and transport chair reviews elsewhere on this site. We’ve identified the best in both categories, so whatever your needs are, we can help you zero in on the chair that’s right for you!