Dial-a-Ride transport bosses get grilling at City Hall

PASSENGERS using London’s controversial dial-a-ride buses have a chance this-morning to question transport bosses over the way the service is being run. The meeting at City Hall is expected to be highly-charged

By Mike Brooke

PASSENGERS using London’s controversial dial-a-ride buses have a chance this-morning (Tuesday) to question transport bosses over the way the service is being run.

The meeting at City Hall is expected to be a highly-charged session of the London Assembly’s transport committee.

It follows a heated public debate with Dial-a-Ride users and Transport for London last March, which highlighted problems of lack of availability, poor punctuality and long call waiting times.

Assembly members have been carrying out an investigation into whether Transport for London’s much-maligned service is improving since then.

The committee in looking at London Councils’ proposals to create a more coordinated door-to-door transport service run by local authorities rather than TfL.

The Committee is to quiz TfL Board member Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson; TfL bus director David Brown, , Surface Transport, London Councils’ corporate services chief Nick Lester, Transport for All pressure group’s Faryal Velmi and London Ambulance patient transport head Nic Daw.

Passengers then have the opportunity to raise issues and put questions directly to them at the public meeting beginning at 10am at City Hall near Tower Bridge, which can be viewed live by webcast on the London Assembly’s website.