Local Link Conditions of Carriage

Transcription

1 Local Link Conditions of Carriage Introduction What you can expect from Local Link Local Link can provide journeys (subject to availability) throughout the year excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. In some areas Local Link is a multi- occupancy service, not a taxi based service. In these areas you should expect to travel with other passengers going to different destinations than your own. For this reason, your journey may take longer than you might expect as it will include time to pick up or drop off others on the way. If you have a medical condition that limits the time you can be on our vehicles, please let us know when booking a trip. Once you have agreed a booking with Local Link, the vehicle that comes to collect you could be a minibus, a saloon car (ordinary car), or a people carrier style car. Local Link schedulers will allocate a vehicle according to your mobility requirements. All of our drivers are trained in customer service to ensure you have a comfortable journey. These Conditions of Carriage outline your rights and any limitations of those rights, and our expectations of you, as a Local Link customer. Transport for Greater Manchester, Local Link service operators and service partners value the custom of all Local Link customers and endeavour to provide a safe and comfortable journey experience. We will aim to always be helpful, courteous and to treat our customers with respect. Transport for Greater Manchester, Local Link service operators and service partners will be referred to collectively, as Local Link Service Partners for the remainder of the document. Feedback We welcome all feedback and, wherever possible, will use feedback to inform how we improve and develop services for the future. All feedback should be directed to our Customer Relations team by Customer.Relations@tfgm.com, phone: , or text: (1) Applies to all services managed through the TfGM central booking system: East Manchester, Hulme & Moss Side, Middleton, Wythenshawe, Heywood, Kingsway Link, Milkstone & Deeplish, Newbold & Smallbridge, Rochdale area Evening service, Salford, Clifton & Moorside, Heald Green, Airport night link, Hattersley, Partington, Timperley, Hindley and Marple & Mellor. (2) Applies to all services managed by the service operator or otherwise, not through the TfGM central booking system: Daubhill & Deane, Eagley, East Bolton, Horwich, Hunger Hill, Little Lever & South Radcliffe, North Bolton & Crompton Health Centre, Hollinwood & Werneth, Gee Cross, Saddleworth & Mossley, Dane Bank & North Reddish, Tame Valley, Ramsbottom & Tottington.

2 We will provide a response within two working days, in full if possible. If further investigation is required, we will send an initial response to let you know and will send a full response once the investigation is complete. If you are not satisfied with a response you receive, please contact us again. Limitation of liability Our operators run services on a first- come first- served basis, either using a pre- determined schedule (1) or on a closest vehicle available basis (2). For this reason, we cannot guarantee that your required journey will be possible every time you attempt to book a trip. All trips will be booked with a flexible trip window of 10 minutes either side of the scheduled time unless otherwise requested at the point of booking. Our advisors will endeavour to request any trip restrictions before scheduling a booking however, will not be held liable if your trip runs earlier or later than you require and you did not specify these restrictions when you booked the trip. Our drivers always try to run the service on time, according to the schedule or booking requirements. However, some circumstances are out of our control including, but not limited to; extreme weather conditions, traffic congestion, road works and failures of the mobile data network these things might affect your journey. We will work to inform you wherever possible and to reduce the impact on service provision if the required resource is available at the time, but under such circumstances we will not be held liable for any losses, damage, costs or inconvenience that you incur. In the event of the cancellation of your trip or withdrawal of the service prior to the scheduled time for reasons out of our control, we will attempt to contact you and try to help you to make alternative arrangements. We do not exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence and your statutory rights remain unaffected. Conditions All customers who travel on a Local Link service shall be deemed to have agreed to be carried according to the conditions below. Local Link service partners reserve the right to refuse travel to anyone who does not comply with the conditions below or is reasonably suspected to be contravening the Public Services Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers Regulations 1990 (as amended 2002). Service operators may also apply their own conditions and should be contacted directly for further information. Conditions marked either with (1) or (2) are only applicable to the stated services in the footnote on page 1, correct as of December Conditions with no marking are applicable to all service. Booking Trips All trips must be booked through the Local Link Call Centre by telephone (1), on the Local Link booking website (1), or by contacting the booking line as advertised. (2)

3 You must first register with the appropriate Local Link service before booking trips. You can register on the Local Link booking website or by contacting the Local Link Call Centre. (1) You must state the origin and destination of your requested trip when booking. Trips must be pre- booked so that a seat can be allocated on the vehicle. Trips can be booked between 7 days and 60 minutes in advance of travel unless otherwise advertised. If you are a registered member (1) of the Local Link scheme you are entitled to book trips to travel with others who are not registered. However, non- registered users may not book trips or travel without a registered member present. Once a trip has been booked you must be ready to travel from 10 minutes before and up to 10 minutes after the agreed trip time, unless you requested otherwise at the point of booking. The vehicle may arrive at any point during this 20 minute window. If you are not ready at this time, our driver will have to leave without you to be on time for the nest passenger. If your vehicle does not arrive as expected, you can call the Local Link Call Centre on between 7am and 8pm M- F and 8am- 8pm Sat & Sun and Public Holidays except Christmas day, Boxing day and new year s day or contact the service operator to check the progress of your vehicle. If you wish to arrange direct contact with the driver s office, to query your vehicle s location out of call centre hours (1), you can request an appropriate contact number from your call centre advisor. If you need to cancel a trip you should give as much advance notice to the call centre or service operator as possible. We reserve the right to suspend trip bookings for a period of 30 days for customers who fail to honour 3 bookings in a 30 day period without at least one hour s advance notice of cancellation. You can cancel trips through the Local Link Call Centre or on the Local Link website (1). We understand that it may not be possible to cancel a trip outside call centre opening hours if you use a service booked through the Local Link call centre (1) and have no access to the internet. We will take this into consideration before suspending bookings. Failure to cancel unwanted bookings results in a wasted journey and means other customers could be refused a journey unnecessarily. We reserve the right to cancel your membership if you repeatedly fail to honour your bookings. If you have a mobile phone, please let us have the number when you first register, so we can contact you if our vehicle is delayed or if our driver has trouble finding you. Customer Conduct Members of staff and customers of all Local Link Service Partners deserve to be treated with respect. Appropriate action will be taken if you are found to have been behaving in a threatening or abusive way towards a member of staff or another customer. An example of such would be abusive telephone calls, harassment or veiled threats and intimidation. Members of staff are instructed to report such incidents to their managers for investigation. We reserve the right to withdraw your registration if you are found to be behaving inappropriately towards a member of staff or another customer.

4 Feedback expressed in a threatening or abusive manner, including the use of offensive language will not be registered or considered. If you repeatedly and persistently make complaints which are trivial and without consequence; or which have a negative effect on customers, members of staff or Local Link service operations; a decision may be taken to cease investigation of future complaints of the same nature. You will be notified in writing if this decision is made. The driver may refuse to fulfil your trip if he believes your behaviour jeopardises the safety, security or comfort of themselves or other customers. In particular you must ensure that you: Use the safety equipment provided to you (e.g. seatbelts) unless you have provided us with a medical exemption certificate prior to travel. Refrain from smoking conventional or electronic cigarettes. Refrain from consuming alcohol or illegal substances. Behave in a manner that cannot be perceived as threatening, disruptive or abusive to others. Refrain from leaving litter or discarded items on vehicles. Do not damage or interfere with any part of the vehicle. Except in an emergency, refrain from talking to or distracting the driver whilst the vehicle is moving. Do not carry a weapon, blade or other item with which you could cause harm to yourself or others. Do not commit a crime. Carriage of wheelchairs, small prams, bicycles and mobility scooters Where possible we will accommodate wheelchairs, small prams, bicycles and mobility scooters, subject to availability of space on the vehicle. If you wish to travel with any of the above, you should inform us at the point of booking so that an appropriately sized vehicle can be allocated. If you wish to travel with a mobility scooter please give us a minimum of one week s notice of its make and model details so that we can determine if it can be safely and legally carried. In some circumstances, an operator representative may conduct a home assessment to confirm a mobility scooter s suitability for carriage. Luggage/Shopping bags: The driver retains the right to refuse the carriage of bags whose size or number are not safely securable to the vehicle. On Local Link services the driver may refuse to carry more than 3 shopping bags per customer or larger suitcases if they: cannot be safely secured; take up seating capacity on the vehicle; or if they obstruct other customers from entering, exiting or sitting comfortably in the vehicle.

5 Fares and Ticketing You must pay the appropriate fare and/or display the appropriate ticket or pass for the trip that you have booked, when boarding the bus. If you are making a return trip, the fare must be paid during the first leg of your trip. When paying a return fare, your return trip must be made within 24 hours of your outbound trip. The driver retains the right to refuse carriage to anyone not paying the correct fare. If travelling under the concessionary fares scheme, a valid pass, permit must be displayed every time you travel. Under- five s go free when travelling with an adult and children under 16 years pay lower child fares. When purchasing a weekly ticket, you are advised to book your trips for the week early, as the flexible nature of the service means that we cannot guarantee that there will be room on the vehicle. We are not liable for trips that are refused due to insufficient capacity. Travelling with animals You can bring your pet with you when you travel, provided that it is suitably restrained or carried in an appropriate container and does not pose any hygiene or safety issues. Animals are not allowed on the seats or to block any aisles of the vehicle and remain your responsibility at all times. You must advise us of any animal that you intend to bring with you when you make your booking. Updated May 2015.