Have your say on Taxicard consultation

The Taxicard scheme is open to people with mobility difficulties and allows them to book discounted black taxi services to help them get around on their own and live independently. However, the scheme is under severe pressure after grants to help run it from two key funders were cut, while use is increasing.

Demand for the service has soared by more than 75% with an average of 8,200 trips every month carried out by 3,000 members, which in turn has seen costs nearly double to £900,000 a year. However the two primary funders, London Councils and Transport for London, have reduced their contributions to Southwark Council under a new funding arrangement applied across the capital.

To ensure as many residents as possible with impaired mobility can still benefit, the council has launched a consultation with four distinct proposals:

1. Limit annual trip allocation to 104 to bring Southwark in line with the majority of other London boroughs.

2. Introduce a lower maximum trip allocation of 52 for people who have a Freedom Pass considered necessary to ensure that increased membership and use of the scheme can be met within the funding available while allowing the scheme to be available to as many people as possible.

3. Introduce a system of allocating the annual trip allowance on a monthly basis. This proposal means that members of the scheme will receive a monthly pro rata allowance based on the annual maximum that applies. For example if a person is eligible for the proposed reduced maximum of 104 they would receive a monthly allowance of eight.

4. Prohibit the carrying over of unused monthly allocations. For example if a scheme member has an allocation of eight trips per month and only uses six trips in a particular month they would have two unused trips. This proposal means that the unused trips would be taken back into the overall pot of trips available to the scheme rather than added to the individual scheme member's allocation for the following month.

Cllr Dora Dixon-Fyle, cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: "The council is fully committed to the Taxicard scheme, but it has become a victim of its own success as costs are spiralling at the same time that our funding for it is being cut.
"The original concept was for it to help those with the most severe mobility issues less able to use public transport for free with a Freedom Pass. We want to continue to offer it as widely as possible as it does give users independence, but we have to find ways of limiting the costs to be able to do that as fairly as possible."

The council has already contributed emergency additional funding after reintroducing 'double-swiping', which allows users to use multiple journey credits towards longer journeys to limit their costs, after London-wide rules introduced in January meant match funding previously provided for that was removed. The council has promised to retain the 'double-swiping' benefit, but in future years this will have to be funded within the scheme's existing budget.

However two additional changes introduced in January, which have seen the minimum user charge rise by a £1 to £2.50 per journey, and a reduction in maximum trip subsidies of between £1-£2 depending on the length and time of the journey, will have to remain.

The consultation takes place from14 April to 13 May 2011. To take part complete a questionnaire online or you can contact Peta Smith on 020 7525 3629.

Southwark currently has the highest maximum trip allocation of all London boroughs and continuing at this level is considered unsustainable and could mean that the scheme has to be suspended to new users part way through the year as happened in 2010/11. The majority of other London boroughs allocate a maximum of 104 and some allocate less that this.