London Councils renews commitment to London Taxicard scheme

London Councils has signalled its continuing commitment to help disabled Londoners live as independent a life as possible - by announcing a new improved Taxicard contract with Computer Cab plc.

The announcement will be welcomed by the thousands of disabled Londoners who use the Taxicard, following last week's threat from Transport for London (TfL) to withdraw the funding they provide for the service.

The new contract with the firm, which has the largest fleet of licensed taxis in London, begins in October 2007 and runs for three years.

The Taxicard service provides subsidised trips in licensed taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) to eligible London residents with serious mobility or visual impairments, and who find it difficult to use public transport.

The service, which is funded by London's boroughs with support from Transport for London, (TfL) is used by over 80,000 members to make more than 1.2 million trips a year.

Disabled Londoners can expect to see significant improvements to the service as a result of the new contract. Computer Cab has invested £4.5 million in a new booking and despatch system called Advantage, which will help improve the booking service, vehicle distribution and fleet management.

The call centre will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and there are plans for a significant increase in the number of sub-contractors and vehicles available to the scheme, all of which will be available via one booking number.

London Councils has also achieved substantial financial savings through the contract, which will allow boroughs to spend more of their budget subsidising Taxicard trips.