Agenda item

The Sub-Committee received a presentation from Elaine James, Chief Officer and Brian Hunter, Mobility Lead at DABD. 

The Sub-Committee was informed that Dial-a-Ride was a membership scheme run by Transport for London which provided a bookable door-to-door minibus service free of charge for disabled and older people who had difficulties accessing public transport. DABD provided a driver plus vehicle for an 8 hour shift between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00 Monday – Friday and during some holiday periods, with an ad-hoc provision of additional drivers and vehicles to respond to variations in the Dial-a-ride service. 

DABD had 25 vehicles in their fleet, 8 of which were used for daily dial-a-ride services, and which were based at their depot in Dagenham. 

Although passenger profiles varied daily in respect of demographic and mobility requirements, typical Dial-a-ride trips were 70% aged 65 years and over and 15% wheelchair users.

Important aspects of the service were noted as:

·                Delivering a user friendly consistent, highly reliable and flexible service, operating in a 5 mile boundary of London.

·                Providing well maintained, clean vehicles in accordance to Dial-a-ride standards.

·                Friendly, helpful, fully trained drivers who go above and beyond for passengers.

·                Utilized environmentally responsible operation procedures and used  Llw emission, alternative fuel vehicles with emissions reporting.

·                The service was fully auditable.

·                The service was vital to reducing social isolation amongst the elderly and disabled communities.

Data showed that Havering had a high percentage of residents with transport accessibility issues. Last year alone, the Transport department delivered over 75,800 trips.  Studies had suggested that over a third of the cost of the health and social care could be alleviated by the implementation of schemes such as these.  Therefore, DABD could and would play a critical role in tackling the present issue of social isolation.

For the past 66 years, DABD had been supporting disabled and vulnerable people to live independently with dignity and to enable greater economic, social, educational and physical mobility through personal development.  It was the belief of DABD that everyone should have the opportunity for personal development to achieve their full potential in order to live their life as independently as possible and of their choosing.  Furthermore, it was the belief of DBD that all excluded people should:

·         Be able to influence local decision making

·         Have the choice in the way they live and work

·         Have inclusive and independent access to living

·         Have facilities and be facilitated in order to have access within the community.

Information on the Dial-a-Ride service was available on the Council’s website and staff of the application process were able to provide advice to residents.  Furthermore, promotional leaflets were available at GP surgeries across the borough. It was suggested that an advertisement be placed in the Living magazine. 

The Sub-Committee discussed DABD’s use of technology and were concerned that this may cause some users difficulty in accessing the service.  Members concerns would be fed back to the Forum to ascertain whether other options would be available. 

The Individuals OSSC:

Noted the contents of the presentation.