Vulnerable residents failed by Dial-a-Ride

01 October 2009

DISABLED and infirm residents in Havering are being failed by a vital free bus service, official figures finally prove.

Dial-a-Ride (DaR), which provides door-to-door transit for those unable to use public transport, refused more than 50-per-cent more trip requests from its vulnerable users in the borough between 2007 and 2009, according to official figures squeezed from London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Seats on the wheelchair-friendly minibuses, managed by Transport for London (TfL), are reserved over the phone.

While the number of requests has increased by 10-per-cent in the last two years, the rejection rate rocketed disproportionately by more than 50-per-cent, from around 3,300 in 2007-08 to more than 6,800 by March 2009.

The sorry stats, the first comprehensive breakdown publically released, vindicate widespread complaints about the service from users in the borough.

Damning London-wide figures were finally coughed up last week by the Mayor following months of extensive questioning by Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport spokesman.

Long-term user and Havering members' spokesman Michael Lloyd, from Hornchurch, has been critical in forcing political scrutiny of DaR, after going public with incriminatory statistics he obtained through Freedom of Information (FoI) rights.

He said: "It's a relief for the members that they've finally admitted what we all knew: that refusal rates have soared. Hopefully now they will do something about it."

In 2006 TfL pledged to halve its refusal rate in the capital to 45,000 in 2007, but in fact the number of rejections leapt to 125,000, and last year jumped to 154,000 - a staggering 400 rejected trips a day.

"It is time that Boris Johnson stopped making excuses over Dial-a-Ride and instead honestly admit that its service falls a long way short of what is necessary for some of the most vulnerable people in London." Said Ms Pidgeon.

DaR, which provides more than a million journeys a year, has blamed some of the problems on its new centralised computer programme, known as Trapeze, which replaced a manual booking system, three years ago.

The London Assembly Transport Committee is expected to publish a scathing report on the embattled service later this year.

A TfL spokesman said: "Dial-a-Ride services have been getting better, and that - coupled with the fact that it has been free since January 2008 - means we've seen an increase in demand.

"We know refusals are disappointing but when members can be flexible on timings, we do try to find a way to accommodate their request and in the last three months we have managed to accommodate over 92 out of 100 trip requests in Havering.

"If members are unable to get the journey they want through Dial-a-Ride, there are alternatives available such as the Taxicard and Capital Call schemes".