Dial-a-Ride Campaign

Dial-a-Ride campaign

Dial-a-Ride is a free door-to-door bus service for disabled and older Londoners run by Transport for London (TfL).  In 2021, Transport for All and Age UK London teamed up to carry out qualitative research on the experiences of Dial-a-Ride users and to find out the importance of the service as well as improvements that needed to be made. 

We produced a report published in July 2022 called Dial-A-Ride: From Door to More, which captured the experiences of 14 Dial-a-Ride users. The research participants, who were interviewed between December 2021 and March 2022, came from a mix of backgrounds, had various impairments, and used a variety of mobility aids. We wanted to amplify the voices of Dial-a-Ride users during a challenging time for door-to-door transport. Since the report was launched we have been campaigning for improvements to Dial-a-Ride and you can find our more about this below.

Campaign update

Meeting with TfL

On 11th July 2022, soon after publication of the report, Age UK London and Transport for All invited eight of the research participants to City Hall, home to the Greater London Authority and London Assembly, to discuss service improvements directly with TfL.

The aim of the meeting, was to share the experiences of Dial-a-Ride users who presented the recommendations directly to the General Manager for Dial-a-Ride. The meeting was chaired by London Assembly Member, Caroline Pidgeon, along with three other Assembly Members who attended as observers (Elly Baker, SIân Berry and Nick Rodgers).

During the meeting five of the recommendations were presented by the Dial-a-Ride users who spoke powerfully about how the issues impacted them. TfL responded to each recommendation. To find out more about the recommendations, how TfL responded and how we feel about their response take a look at the Account od the campaign so far (February 2023).

London Assembly pass motion supporting the report

On 8th September 2022, the London Assembly unanimously passed a motion, calling on TfL to improve the service.

The London Assembly said that Dial-a-Ride is a vital service to many Londoners, however it could be improved with minimal cost, to ensure that those who rely on it have the best service possible.

The motion was proposed by London Assembly Member, Emma Best AM and seconded by London Assembly Member, Caroline Pidgeon. The full text of the motion can be found at https://www.london.gov.uk/motions/dial-ride

On 15th December, London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, asked the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, questions about Dial-a-Ride during a Mayor’s Question Time session. Caroline referred to the Dial-a-Ride: From Door to More report and focused on asking the Mayor to make sure that Dial-a-Ride truly does serve customers until 10pm.

An experience of many Dial-a-Ride customers, including some of those interviewed for the research, suggests that the reality for too many is that they have to leave social events at 8:30pm. The full exchange can be viewed here starting at 34:00 to 40:10: 

Transport for London responds…

In September 2022 TfL responded in writing to all of the report’s recommendations. We are pleased that TfL are announcing some positive changes following the campaigning of Dial-A-Ride members together with Age UK London and Transport for All.   

The key changes are:  

• Additional staff to reduce call waiting times. 
• A new scheduling system to reduce inefficient journeys. 
• Involving Dial-A-Ride members in the design of a new booking and scheduling system.

Despite these positive changes, we are disappointed that TfL has not seized the opportunity to make more of the changes that ourselves and the Dial-a-Ride members we work alongside wanted to see. These changes would have had a profound impact on Londoners who rely on door-to-door transport. Both our organisations are concerned that the responses received do not always indicate a sense of urgency from TfL.

Deputy Mayor announces planned changes

In February 2023, Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance wrote to us to set out a number of improvements to the Dial-a-Ride service that Transport for London were planning to deliver. 

Among the improvements are:

• Recruiting additional drivers to increase service levels
• Restoring operating hours to Midnight (as they were pre-pandemic)
• Introducing a new booking system

We welcome these improvements and will be working closely with our members and research participants to monitor and track progress, to ensure the changes have impact.

Links to Seb Dance’s letter in full:

Seb Dance Letter in full

Seb Dance Letter Plain Text Version