Taxi services

Tender description

The City of York Council is looking for suppliers to provide home to school transportation services to its pupils and young people. There are 3 lots: Lot 1 — Home to Special School for children with learning and physical disabilities to get to York's 2 special schools; Lot 2 — Contact Visits for children, who have scheduled contact visits with parents; Lot 3 — General Transportation for children going to a range of places such as out of school clubs, day trips or visits out. CYC also requires for Lot 1 and 3 the use of Walking Assistants and Transport Trainers who will work on an individual level with specific children to encourage them to walk or use public transport. Passenger Transport Assistants are required for the majority of journeys. The Passengers have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) may have a variety of conditions or difficulties relating to them separately or in combination covering physical disability or emotional needs which affects their agility and/or behaviour in varying degrees of severity. The Provider will need to consider the individual requirements of each passenger when arranging and discharging their operational duties. The Provider will communicate all concerns and queries clearly to the Council and will work with the Council to manage Passengers on an individual basis. Passenger Individual Travel Plans will be issued by the Council as required and the Provider must follow instructions in these plans. 1.1 The Provider is responsible for the safe and timely travel of Passengers to contact visits during working hours, though evening work may be required. 2 Journeys may be required for each contact visit, an outward and return Journey for a young person (or group of siblings). These contact visits are extremely sensitive for all parties and all parties may be under difficult emotional stress before and after the visits. It is paramount that the service operates smoothly and professionally to ease any stress and must not unintentionally add to the stress (for example, Drivers or Passenger Transport Assistants must not ask children about their parents). 1.2 Where a child is removed from a family and placed with a foster carer, there is a level of contact between the child and their birth parents which is set by a court. The age group of young people requiring this transport will be from 0 - 16 years. 1.1 The Provider is responsible for the safe and timely travel of the Passengers from their Homes to an Establishment in the morning and from the Establishment to their Homes in the afternoon. The number of Establishments, timings and locations that the transport service is required to take Passengers to and from may change regularly. 1.2 This Contract will provide transport services including: — Home to school transport for mainstream, SEND and Looked After Children (children in the care of the Council). There are approximately 250 pupils requiring transport. — Transport for pupils attending Danesgate Community Pupil Referral Unit. This transport is booked on a weekly basis and is approximately 300 - 350 single Journeys per week. — Transport at evenings, weekends, and during school holidays for Looked After Children, journeys to and from respite care, breakfast, after school and holiday clubs, and other provision. This is approximately 150 Journeys per month.