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Contents

1. Use of Taxis by Service Users and Carers
2. Taxis to and from School
3. Taxis at other Times
4. Use of Taxis by Staff
5. Booking a Taxi
6. Billing
7. Monitoring

1. Use of Taxis by Service Users and Carers

Taxis are available for Family Services users and carers who do not have access to their own transport and do not have friends or relatives able to assist. However, they must only be used for necessary and legitimate journeys where there is no reasonable alternative and must be approved in advance by a manager. Taxis should not be used for service users who are not residents of the Borough, unless they have been placed outside the Borough by RBKC.

2. Taxis to and from School

Certain children, especially those Looked After by the Council, need to have the continuity of attendance at their current school. Children of secondary school age may be able to travel independently on public transport (and following a risk assessment) and should do so where possible. Children of primary school age should be escorted by a carer (parent or foster carer). Once again, taxis should only be used when necessary. However, if this is ongoing, moving school may need to be considered in the longer term.

Where possible repeat journeys should be block booked in advance.

3. Taxis at other Times

There a number of other situations where Looked After Children may need to travel by taxi (to maintain contact arrangements, to attend reviews and medical appointments, etc). Advice should be sought from a manager.

4. Use of Taxis by Staff

Taxis should not normally be used by workers except where they are escorting a service user. Public transport should always be the first option (and the Council makes a ‘Zone 1/2' travel allowance available to most staff). 

However, a taxi may be used in the following circumstances: 

• when transporting equipment that is too heavy or bulky to be taken via public transport;
• when an employee is required to work later than 9pm and there is no reasonable alternative;
• When an employee is out of borough and on Borough business, and where there is no viable public transport;
• when taxi use is recommended following a health and safety or other formal risk assessment;
• in an emergency;
• in other circumstances if use is approved by a manager.

5. Booking a Taxi

Addison Lee has been appointed as the Business Group’s temporary taxi contractor with effect from 1st December 2006. Drivers have been approved by the Public Carriage Office regarding CRB clearance.

Bookings can be made by telephone on 020 7387 8888 or through the Addison Lee website.

In order for a journey to be booked and billed correctly, a processing location code (which normally corresponds to a specific team, service or establishment) must be provided as a reference number at the time of booking. Local Business Support staff can advise on which processing location should be used.

All vehicles are fitted with GPS to assist with pickups and journey planning. Staff making the booking will receive a text on their mobile or land line when the vehicle is at the pickup location.

6. Billing

For billing purposes each processing location code has been allocated its own account number. Electronic invoices will be raised against each processing location code and emailed to the One World Team for redistribution in the usual way. A bespoke Addison Lee account card has been sent to each section authorised to use this contractor.

All bills must be processed and approved on time in accordance with the Council’s financial regulations.

7. Monitoring

Any comments on the quality of the Addison Lee contract should be passed to the FCS Contracts Team.

End