Request ID: FOI-3029-2223 Date published: 14 March 2023
You asked
• How long has TFL’s Travel Mentoring Service, in which customers can call or email the service, been in place for?
• Broken down month by month for as far back as records go, please can you tell me how many calls the Service has received?
• Broken down month by month for as far back as records go, please can you tell me how many emails from customers it has received?
• Broken down month by month for as far back as records go, please can you tell me how many ‘appointments’ have been scheduled
o And of these, how many have been attended, and how many have not been attended?
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-3029-2223
Thank you for your request received on 16 February 2023 asking for information about the travel mentoring 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 some of the information you require. You asked:
• How long has TFL’s Travel Mentoring Service, in which customers can call or email the service, been in place for?
The service was set up in April 2006 and called The Travel Assistance Scheme. Its aim was to help people who were using Dial-a-Ride and had freedom passes to gain confidence to use public transport rather than be a regular Dial-a-Ride user. The take up was low and the team found they were getting a high volume of enquires from all members of public who wanted planning and travel information, not just the disabled community they were set up to assist.
A new area of work was developed following liaison with other charities and agencies, offering to provide advice to people with learning disabilities, or Special Educational Needs (SEND) providers, which proved to be a huge untapped market.
The team was renamed in 2010 as Travel Mentors, and today the great work continues.
• Broken down month by month for as far back as records go, please can you tell me how many calls the Service has received? • Broken down month by month for as far back as records go, please can you tell me how many emails from customers it has received?
Please see the table below for the requested information. This information is recorded by financial period, please see the attached spreadsheet for a list of dates covered by each period.
Please note that the figures below are for telephone and email enquiries, we do not hold separate figures for each type of enquiry.
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
TOTAL
2015/16
168
176
137
107
106
99
82
154
122
86
132
202
135
1,706
2016/17
143
104
85
86
128
50
85
80
77
20
33
59
49
999
2017/18
33
77
56
57
37
68
62
42
28
28
37
37
64
626
2018/19
50
36
33
55
38
38
52
44
55
27
48
47
58
581
2019/20
50
52
45
65
55
71
80
64
65
47
56
44
43
737
2020/21
0
0
8
9
19
29
17
18
9
4
6
7
21
147
2021/22
29
26
55
77
89
61
87
68
96
44
81
60
107
880
2022/23*
92
107
163
147
135
121
178
135
113
52
-
-
-
1,243
*to March 2023
• Broken down month by month for as far back as records go, please can you tell me how many ‘appointments’ have been scheduled o And of these, how many have been attended, and how many have not been attended?
We do not hold this information. Due to individual mentors booking their own appointments, many referrals may have repeat visits. We set the level at five sessions if the individual is responding well, and if more than five sessions are required permission must be given. The figures below show the number of individual referrals we receive to give a picture of the possible number of appointments. This does not include school visits, workshops, meeting with partners, participants in projects and schemes which far outnumber the total of individual referrals.
No records are kept of cancellations. They can occur fairly regularly due to the vulnerable nature of our customer base.
Please see the figures below, these are for individual public referrals for one to one mentoring, mobility aid recognition card, Taxicard appeals, and Dial-a-Ride appeals.
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
TOTAL
2015/16
1
15
11
17
17
11
20
23
9
11
10
18
17
180
2016/17
14
16
21
15
24
20
17
17
20
8
10
12
17
211
2017/18
14
17
10
27
23
18
16
19
18
8
23
11
42
246
2018/19
19
28
21
22
24
14
31
24
33
17
26
36
20
315
2019/20
28
24
31
28
37
35
26
20
29
16
37
30
16
357
2020/21
0
0
6
4
12
10
9
6
7
3
4
3
15
79
2021/22
14
15
16
19
17
16
21
10
14
6
15
18
15
196
2022/23*
11
10
30
26
26
20
16
20
16
9
15
-
-
199
*to March 2023
Bus Days are held monthly in a number of boroughs across London. It is only open to SEND and people with learning difficulties and is primarily used by schools. The table below provides the number of participants:
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
TOTAL
2015/16
210
271
436
367
103
105
208
132
226
0
249
399
258
2964
2016/17
326
293
445
283
48
77
224
340
264
40
310
666
347
3,663
2017/18
208
266
473
201
88
98
316
114
398
38
255
299
236
2,990
2018/19
251
322
193
298
87
68
322
129
366
66
166
345
363
2,976
2019/20
395
321
333
383
0
18
307
188
286
63
111
307
123
2,835
2020/21
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2021/22
0
27
33
170
18
0
183
183
188
0
40
95
237
1,174
2022/23*
128
194
279
216
27
47
128
180
314
0
192
-
-
1,705
*to March 2023
If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
