FOI request detail

Dial-a-ride

Request ID: FOI-0038-2021
Date published: 22 April 2020

You asked

TFL and the Mayor have yet to provide me with the total costs and the statistics per passenger mile, total miles ,waiting times etc.

We answered

TfL Ref: FOI-0038-2021

Thank you for your correspondence (attached) received by Transport for London (TfL) on 31st March 2020 asking for information about the Dial-A-Ride service.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

I can confirm that we hold the information you require.

Note that Dial-a-Ride is a pre-booked, multi-occupancy door-to-door service only available to older and disabled Londoners who meet stringent eligibility criteria. The service uses specially adapted minibuses that are fully wheelchair accessible and employs specially trained driver-attendants who provide the high level of individual assistance that the majority of Dial-a-Ride members require to and from the vehicle. To address your specific questions:

  1. Total costs of operation:

In the last financial year (1 April 2019- 31 March 2020) the total costs of providing the Dial-a-Ride service amounted to £32,493k.

  1. Number of passenger miles and cost per passenger mile:

During that year Dial-a-Ride operated a total of 1,346,453 passenger miles[1], equating to a cost per passenger mile of £24.13[2]  ([1] Measured ‘as the crow files’ / 2 This does not include the 12% of trips provided for an accompanying escort or companion).

  1. Waiting times

The pre-booked, door to door nature of the Dial-a-Ride service means that passengers book a journey with an agreed window of arrival 15 minutes either side of the booked time, so the service does not measure ‘waiting time’ in the way that a public scheduled bus service might do.

If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.

On a more general matter, please note that the Government has announced a series of measures to tackle the Coronavirus. It is essential for London, and in particular for all critical workers, that we continue to provide a safe transport network that enables them to make the journeys they need to.

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely,

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

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