Good morning FOI, London Dial a Ride service. Please declare the following under the Freedom of information act regarding the London Dial a Ride service please thank you. • Please declare the total number of completed service routes and total completed mileage for 2004/5. • Please declare the total number of completed service routes and total completed mileage for 20017/18. • Please declare the total number of completed service routes and total completed mileage for 2018/19.

---

Our ref: FOI-2494-1920/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 18 November 2019 asking for information about Dial a Ride.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.

Please declare the total number of completed service routes and total completed mileage for 2004/5. – 78,922 shifts and 3,840,198 shifts (Dial-a-Ride only)

Please declare the total number of completed service routes and total completed mileage for 20017/18. – 78,694 shifts (Dial-a-Ride and Community Transport) and 2,889,994 shift miles (DaR only)

Please declare the total number of completed service routes and total completed mileage for 2018/19. – 73,445 shifts (Dial-a-Ride and Community Transport) and 2,893 shift miles (Dial-a-Ride only)

Notes –

• Shift miles is based on Dial-a-Ride drivers recording start and finish Odometer (ODO) readings, calculating the difference for each shift, and then totalling the figures for all shifts.

   

• Drivers record the mileage on their ODO at the pull-out and pull-in from the depot at the start and finish of each shift, hence we only have total shift mileage (which is reported above) for each of the years in question. Drivers do not record any further ODO readings during their shift so mileage between trips, included dead mileage can only be estimated using Trapeze assumed routings. These were not available in 2004/5 as Trapeze had not been introduced at that time.

   

• Dial-a-Ride does not operate ‘service bus routes’, hence the terminology ‘total completed service routes’ is not used by the service.

In 2017/18 and 2018/19, your total completed mileage was recorded by your new app terminal system. Drivers have an iPhone the system is set up that the driver cannot leave the depot until they enter their start mileage and on their return to the depot the last thing, they do is to enter the finish mileage they have to do this to enable the system to be completed. I understand your software calculates the dead mileage as stated above. Your system has calculated these two years total completed mileage I look forward to receiving them thank you.

The mileages recorded from start to finish of shift in the requested years has been provided above.

Can you confirm does your new App Terminal system calculate the total completed mileage as this works off Google maps. Or does your Trapeze scheduling system calculate the total completed mileage as this calculates as the crow flies rather than the actual mileage?

Our current system is based on Drivers inputting start and finish ODOs on their device to provide actual completed shift mileage, ie finish ODO less start ODO summed for all shifts. We can also determine the street-routed shift mileage a driver would have taken had they followed the route as scheduled by Trapeze.

When Dial a Ride buses have their operational licence service as a part of this the total completed mileage is recorded and calculated from the previous service there will be dead mileage where the bus has travelled to the garage.

Dial-a-Ride buses do not follow specific routes, so the description above is not relevant. The start and finish of a shift are defined as pull out and pull in from the Depot.

Does Dial a Ride claim Bus Service Operators Grant? If you do, it is a legal requirement to declare your total completed mileage to claim back your dead mileage.

Dial-a-Ride does not claim Bus Service Operators Grant.

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

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

Back to top

---