Disabled and elderly people across the whole of London have faced a growing number of refused trips from Transport for London’s Dial-a-Ride service.
Following extensive questioning by Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, the Mayor has been forced to release figures showing that over the last two years there has been more than a 50% increase in the number of trips refused to disabled and elderly people who rely on the Dial-a-Ride service.
Commenting on the figures, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“Three years ago Transport for London promised disabled Londoners a far better deal from Dial-a-Ride. They specifically promised that the number of refused trips would halve in just two years. Yet instead of falling the number of refused trips have actually gone up by more than 50%. It is simply appalling every day of the year more than 400 trips are now refused to Dial-a-Ride users.
“Far from the new centralised computer booking system providing a better service the reality for disabled Londoners who rely on Dial-a-Ride is frequent inconvenience and isolation due to vital trips being denied to them.
“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.”
You can also read coverage of this story by the BBC website.