51°29′32.7″N0°04′50.2″W / 51.492417°N 0.080611°W /51.492417; -0.080611
Dial-a-Ride is a service run byTransport for London (TfL) which is mainly a door-to-doorcommunity transport service for people with a permanent or long term disability or health problem who are unable, or virtually unable to use public transport.[1][2] In 2019, there were around 40,000 members of the scheme.[3]
In December 1972,London Transport began operating adial a ride service inHampstead, aimed at both commuters and shoppers.[4] This ended in 1976 due to high costs.[5]
In 1982,Camden Council set up London's first dial a ride scheme for disabled residents, with funding from theGreater London Council (GLC).[6][7] Several London councils includingGreenwich soon followed.[7] Following the successful development of GAD-about in Greenwich, a clone prototype project was developed forLondon Transport which was then handed over in a modular form to allow easy implementation and scaling up.[7] By the late 1980s, there were over 25 dial a ride groups across London, subsidised by a £7.2m grant fromLondon Regional Transport.[8][9]
Until 2002, the London Dial-a-Ride service consisted of six sectors, each of which had its own main colour on theMercedes-Benz Sprinter minibuses:[8]
Since 2002, Dial-a-Ride has been run and funded solely by TfL.[8] In 2012, TfL began replacing the entire Dial-a-Ride fleet at a cost of £3.9 million.[11]
As of 2022[update], the fleet comprises 256 accessible vehicles, allMellor Tucana low floor minibuses, built on theVolkswagen Transporter platform.[12] The fleet meetsEuro VI emission standards, and therefore isUltra Low Emission Zone compliant.[13] Historically, a range of vehicles have been used includingMercedes-Benz Sprinter andVito minibuses.[14]
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The 'Taxicard' scheme provides subsidisedtaxi and private hire journeys for Londoners with serious mobility or visual issues, with around 60,000 members registered to the scheme. The scheme is run byLondon Councils.[15]
He launched the first Dial-a-Ride in Camden, with funding from the Manpower Services Commission and later a grant from Camden council to buy the special vehicles required. Within a few years, with support from the Greater London Council, the scheme had expanded throughout London, and then, with government funding, around the UK.
Following Camden Council's founding of London's first scheme specifically for disabled residents in 1982, by the late 1980s there were over 25 dial a ride groups across London, subsidised by a £7.2m grant from London Regional Transport. In 2002, TfL took them all over to offer a centralised system.
There are 256 buses in Dial-a-Ride's fleet.
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