The invention provides for a method of operating a stairlift, the stairlift having non-contact sensors to monitor the path along which the stairlift carriage is traveling, and to determine the presence of an obstruction on that path. Features of the stairlift in a ‘safe’ or ‘un-obstructed’ mode, including the path, may be stored as a ‘map’ in memory and sensor readings compared with the map as the carriage moves along the path. The invention allows the use of momentary commands to initiate and maintain movement of the stairlift.