London dial a ride
Hello, can I call out to any other London Dial a Ride users who might want to discuss this service with me or any other users.
I have no access to any private transport and cannot access public transport services near me. Unfortunately this service has become significantly less reliable for me as I’ve found recently that if I don’t book 7 days ahead I can’t rely on it for health appointments, and even then it’s not guaranteed. The alternative is taxi card but they’ve got a very limited number of drivers and because of their booking system even advanced bookings can’t be relied on.
Whilst I’m grateful for the fact that these services exist. I’ve become increasingly frustrated with them and have had to cancel appointments and have also been late.
I’ve got plenty to say but this’ll do for now.
Comments
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I found this service terrible - I booked my trip to go shopping, I was picked up from home early, then left stranded at the shops as although on my app it showed my bus and the driver, the driver told me I wasn’t on his pick up list and to call dial a ride to rebook, when I did I was told it would be 2 hours, ended up getting an uber
when I’ve tried to book a ride to take me shopping I always get no seats available, or your journey is pending, then it gets cancelled
ive Gave up so only got to use the once
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hello apples, I’ve been left stranded on multiple occasions by both dial a ride and taxi card. I’ve had numerous long waits as well. Last year when my OH was in hospital I booked taxi card in advance to bring me home at 5.30pm at 5.45 I got an voice message asking if I still needed a taxi then others at 6, 6.15, 6.30 6.45 at 7 I booked a mini cab through the hospital freephone.(incidentally it was bucketing down)
The most recent dial a ride mess was a couple of months ago. I had an appointment at 3pm with a collection time between 2.20 and 2.50 I thought that was enough time and and took what was offered, at 2.50 I rang dial a ride and they said they’d be another 30 minutes ITS AN ACTUAL APPOINTMENT AT 3 that was only 10 minutes ride from home, I had no choice but to cancel everything and reschedule for a month later.
I’ve got a long list of times things have gone badly wrong, but what can we do? This is the services that we’ve got. Yes I a normal taxi is an option but I only get the standard rate mobility component of PIP which doesn’t cover anything like a normal life I recently paid £16.50 to get to the doctors one way which is very local and only a 10 minute drive.
Giving me more money isn’t the answer though a better answer is running the services more efficiently, and some joined up thinking would be even better. I talk to the drivers and have court them lying, this is the worst one, on one occasion I finished at the dentist earlier than expected so I rang dial a ride and they said they didn’t have anything available and I’d have to wait, I could see the bus parked further down the street, when he collected me he said he’d been on another job but the bus didn’t move for 45 minutes. So he’d dropped me and parked up for over an hour during this time he could have done at least one other job so the lie was believable but he didn’t know I could see the bus further down the street and it only moved to come and pick me up. How is this efficient? The trackers on these buses are pointless. So a better tracking system would be better for a start!
How about taxi vouchers and making all taxi services accept them. So I could go from “Wembley to Wimbledon” or “Havering to Hillingdon” occasionally and use loads or just go regularly 2 miles or less up the road to the supermarket and still get some subsidy, and the taxi drivers wouldn’t be out of pocket.0 -
Hi @gussiefinknottle1 sorry to hear of your dilemma this is meant to be a service to help us with mobility issues, I’m also on the standard rate for mobility pip so getting an uber is expensive
i Don’t know about your area but when I see a dial a ride bus while I’m out and about, the bus has only one person on board or no one, he could have dropped a passenger off or on way to pick up a passenger but it’s too much a coincidence for me to frequently see the buses empty
As you have caught them lying I wouldn’t put anything past them
A few months ago i received a call from someone doing a survey for the dial a ride and I told them about the shockingly bad service, but it seems nothing has changed
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I think we need to find out what kind of funding D-a-R has, the amount of transport, etc. First, we need to write to the deputy.
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Dial a Ride is funded by Transport for London, so all London is paying for it, although I believe that it is treat like the poor cousin that the family doesn’t acknowledge!
Unfortunately it is all we’ve got. I did think about writing to Sadiq Khan the London Mayor, but a complaint needs to be short and constructive and I can’t be either.
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That's why you need to write to your MP - you're unlikely to get the answer you need from TfL, D-a-R and the mayor.
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I’ve just this morning tried to make a booking for a trip to a medical appointment on 23rd and yet again was put on the waiting list. So even 7 days in advance isn’t enough and now of course they’ve got the excuse that it’s holiday season! I guess it’s one more for the list…. And another NHS appointment cancelled on the day.
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Hi gus, I thankfully don't need to use Dial a Ride but I see empty vehicles frequently and usually driving slowly. I always check because I've seen it so often and don't understand why.
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Hi! If these are electric cars, then they slowly crawl to the charging station.
The question is how the DaR service is organized internally. If it is like Uber, then there are not enough cars and drivers, otherwise - poor organization of work.
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As I said DAR is funded by TFL, it consists of Hundreds of community transport buses based at various depots throughout London, the drivers are all salaried members of staff, there are also a number of local community transport buses that can also be used for DAR bookings I do believe that they are all accessible for wheelchair users. Anyone over the age of 85 can sign up to the DAR service but they can also be used by younger passengers who need them due to a long term or permanent disability and who cannot use conventional public transport.
Most DAR buses are red but the other community transport buses are other colours.
when you join you are given a personal 6 digit membership number that you quote every time you contact them, trips are limited to 5 miles from your home and the further away you travel the more likely that you will be sharing part of your journey with other passengers. This means that sometimes even going a couple of miles away can take an hour or more.
They don’t cover hospital appointments but can cover other types of trips, religious, social, medical, shopping or personal care appointments for example.
The booking system that is currently in use only allows you to book up to 7 days in advance and was introduced about a 18 months ago with the intention that it would allow passengers same day bookings but as I’m struggling to get bookings even 7 days in advance it’s obvious it’s not fit for purpose!
When I used to book on the phone I always found that it was absolutely fine if you didn’t have a fixed time of arrival or if you were happy to wait for your return so it was great for social occasions especially if you’re going to someone’s home and you didn’t have to wait in the street for your return home. But recently I’ve only been out to medical appointments so time is important and DAR has repeatedly let me down.
TAXI CARD.
Is funded by the various London Councils. It’s run by TFL but managed by com cab, your doctor has to fill in your application, if you’re accepted you will also be signed up to DAR.
It’s a subsidised taxi service and the taxis are supplied by Comcab and can be either black cabs or mini cabs depending on your needs I’ve told them repeatedly that I cannot use people carriers but normal saloon cars are fine but they still occasionally send me people carriers!
you are given a limited number of “rides” each year but can only use a maximum of two per ride for example I had to go to one of the big London hospitals and used taxi card to get home there was about £60 on the meter but I only paid £10.Like DAR your given a customer number you but your account is also linked to your mobile phone number so you don’t always need to quote your number.
When you make a booking, even days before they only put your booking on the system 30 minutes before the time of your booking so if no taxi drivers take your booking you get no ride! Also if a better paid booking comes in the driver can spit yours back, so once again you get no ride! This has happened to me a number of times and means that I can’t rely on it for appointments.
they also don’t have enough drivers so when you ring for an as soon as possible collection you can wait for a very long time. My partner and I got stranded at one of the big London hospitals and gave up waiting after nearly two hours last summer. We spent over £75 on taxi fares that day, partly because of this my OH won’t consider having a bone marrow transplant that could cure his blood cancer because it might cost a fortune for me to visit him in hospital.(there are other reasons but this is one of them)0 -
I applied for DAR and was granted m/ship a month or two ago. However, the app is full of bugs (it freezes, doesn't accept my postcode, displays incorrect maps etc). I won't be using the service; it is too problematic.
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It is necessary to complain about bugs in applications and services, preferably explaining the problem in detail, and, if you trust them, allow sending telemetry directly from the application. Otherwise, they are unlikely to fix it.
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To understand it, you need to get an order processing algorithm. How to do this - I don't know.
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you and I may live in very different places so you might get better results by booking on a phone but you might have long waits for your call to be answered. But I can confirm that the app is awful. Although I mainly use it now for my own bookings as it helps jiggery pokery timings to try to get the required booking. I was told by one of the drivers that it was designed for American cab services, so it makes sense that it isn’t compatible with uk addresses.
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The problem is definitely not in the addresses. Another option that aggravates the problem is an outdated smartphone, many programs in the background.
My bet is on a small number of cars and drivers.0 -
@gussiefinknottle1 and @egister Thank you for your response. When I have to go to hospital even for a minor attendance at a day clinic, I am always collected and returned home by the hospital transport people. Sometimes they send an ambulance, sometimes a taxi. Sometimes I am the only passenger, other times not. They tell me I have to be ready for collection a couple of hours beforehand, and that is fine because I am at home and I know for sure they will come and get me.
I can get out and about locally on my mobility scooter, for instance when I want to go shopping, sit in the park or pop into a pub or restaurant, but I don't need appointments for any of these casual day-to-day matters. For matters that require appointments I need reliable transport, for from what I have read on this thread DAR isn't reliable.
Egister, you indicated that people may have outdated smart phones and the problem isn't with addresses. I keep all my tech bang up to date, so my mobile isn't a problem. and the problem is my address. I moved into my flat in April '22 and the "Powers that Be" got my postcode wrong. This has been rectified with everyone since about April '23 but the DAR system keeps giving me an address that is four doors away, so their system hasn't been updated. Also, for mundane matters like my ordinary run-of-the-mill life I don't need appointments, but when I do need to keep an appointment I need a reliable transport service. On top of this the appointments that I need to keep are usually in a few days time (for example I had to go the theatre last Thursday) so I can't give 7 days notice, nether can I afford to be late for an appointment.
That all said, I will try again with DAR! I will give them a call this coming week and try to get my address sorted, and also find out how much notice they need to come and get me! I hope you all get your transport issues sorted.
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hi Steve, you get it.
I’m in big trouble right now, this morning I’m going to have to make an appointment to go and see the CAB but of course all I’m thinking is how the hell am I going to get there? They’re only a couple of streets away from my GP surgery and if I’m struggling to get bookings that can take me there what are the chances of getting a booking in the same area?
£16 odd one way using a cab firm and another £7 for Taxicard to bring me home, DAR taking me then having to kill time in the street and then kill more time waiting for a lift home whether it be through DAR or Taxicard. I can’t rely on Taxicard to take as I’ve already explained there's every likelihood they won’t turn up on time.
I had to cancel an appointment at the GP surgery for today because I’ve got no transport. and then on Friday, I received a letter from the DWP so now I’ve got to go to the CAB, getting there today would’ve been impossible, i’m going to struggle to get there at all this week anyway because I’ve got other things I need to do that are very time-consuming and physically demanding on me, but of course I can’t afford to ignore the letter and have to get it dealt with quickly.
I’m juggling family demands including my partners needs and demands. I really need just to be left alone to get on with it this week, but I doubt that’s gonna happen. The last time something like this happened it actually led to my multiple sclerosis worsening due to the mental and physical demands placed on me.
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In 'taxi call programs', the map subsystem (addresses) is either from Google or local for each country. Your case is making changes to the system of data on users of the 'taxi call program'. If we describe it in simple terms 😊.
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hi, Steve has said about the system giving him addresses four doors away. I can beat that. Try the next housing estate over. it’s not even in the same street. And my housing estate is much older. Sometimes it does give me a neighbouring block. Or a block in the same street. But this actually can be altered by the User, me in this case. But it’s damn annoying.
Anyway CAB appointment sorted telephone call only. I’ve thought about the appointment I cancelled at the GP surgery and I’ve Realised there’s no real reason that I can think of that I actually needed to attend. They could do this over the phone i’m going to speak to the surgery today.
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Hi Egister, incidentally DAR don’t use cars they’re tiny mini buses some of which have removable seats to accommodate wheelchair users I think they can accommodate up to 4 wheelchair users at one time dependent on what kind of bus and what kind of configuration they’ve got similar to hospital transport buses. And they employ over 370,000 drivers. This figure does not include those who are working for the community transport buses operated by the councils. ( just asked the Internet the question how many drivers do London Dial a ride employ how accurate this figure is I’m not really sure)
Because I talk to the drivers many of whom I have become familiar with over time I have been led to believe that there have been a number of redundancies. there has definitely been some financial cuts to the DAR service. It really doesn’t make sense as most of their passengers are over 85 years old and we know that we have an increasingly population
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