Service Level Agreement
1. Journey Delays
1.1 Terms defined in the Service Level Agreement shall have the definitions given to them in the Operator Terms.
1.2 The parties acknowledge that situations arise that are beyond the control of the Operator (including vehicle breakdown, unusual traffic jams and unforeseen weather events). However, RideTandem aims to provide customers and passengers with a world class service and expects the Operator to play a crucial role in this and to take sensible steps (for example, leaving early) to reduce the impact of situations of which the Operator is already aware of or could be reasonably expected to be aware of (for example, traffic jams which are common or predictable on the route).
1.3 In the event of any delays to pick up Passengers that exceed than 5 minutes or any other issues negatively affecting the transport services offered to Customers, the Operator will contact RideTandem’s 24-hour contact number as soon as it is safe to do so and (other than in exceptional circumstances) always within 5 minutes of the issue becoming apparent.
1.4 If such contact is not made by the Operator and RideTandem itself is unable to contact the driver or the Operator within a further 5 minutes, RideTandem shall be entitled to withhold payment for the affected journey and reserves the right to:
(a) arrange alternative transport;
(b) charge the Operator an amount equal to 100% of the costs of that alternative transport.
1.5 If contact is successfully made but the Operator cannot fulfil the journeys within a reasonable time frame (assumed to be at most one hour later than originally timetabled), RideTandem reserves the right to arrange alternative transport and charge the Operator an amount equal to 100% of the costs. In addition, RideTandem shall be entitled to Service Credits as determined below.
2. Service Credits
2.1 RideTandem will always exercise its rights proportionately in respect of adverse events, taking into account the steps taken by the Operator to minimise their impact uponRideTandem’s Customers, but will be entitled to deduct from amounts that are due in respect of a journey, the percentage of the journey fee which is obtained from the table below.
2.2 For the purposes of measuring the Journey Delay no account will be taken of time which the Operator can show did not result from the Operator’s action (or failure to act). The table below refers to “Trips” and “Trip Fees”. A Trip is an single journey with Passengers. The Trip fee is the pro rata daily Journey Fee calculated in relation to the number of Trips that day (by way of worked example if the daily Journey Fee is £1,000 and involves 4 Trips, each Trip Fee shall be £250).
Trip Delay (mins) Service Credits (% of TripFee)
60 100%
30 75%
15 50%
2.3 RideTandem shall also be entitled to a deduction equal to 10% of all Charges due in the applicable calendar week (or to terminate this Agreement) if in relation to more than 5%of journeys in a calendar week the Operator does not comply with the requirements in relation to use of RideTandem’s Platform and the Driver App, including the driver pressing‘ Start Journey’ on the Driver App upon commencing each journey and enabling RideTandem’s Platform access to location data for the full duration of each journey.
Operator Obligations and Compliance
3. Operator Obligations.
The Operator shall:
3.1 Provide 24/7 access to a member of staff who can support in case of service failure.
3.2 Use all reasonable endeavours to ensure vehicles arrive at the pick-up point within at least 5 minutes of the designated departure time.
3.3 Ensure a driver is allocated to each journey within RideTandem’s dashboard on the Platform at least three hours before that journey is due to take place.
3.4 Ensure all drivers have access to an appropriate device to use the Driver App, that the Driver App has been installed and updated and that the device has access to mobile connectivity at all times where there is available signal. The Operator is liable for any costs involved and incurred in supplying any appropriate device and/or accessing theDriver App.
3.5 Train each driver to use the Driver App and ensure that each driver logs in to the DriverApp once it is on its way to the first pickup location, or at least 15 minutes prior to the planned departure time (whichever is the sooner).
3.6 Ensure that each Passenger complies with the Ticketing arrangements set out in the Contract Particulars.
3.7 If the vehicle booked cannot be used, use all reasonable endeavours to provide an alternative as quickly as possible and with at least the same number of seats and at the cost of the original vehicle. The vehicle should also be updated within RideTandem’s dashboard on the Platform as soon as possible. If the best way to ensure passengers get to their destination on time is to send an alternative type of vehicle e.g. multiple taxis, RideTandem’s Operations team must be informed of this immediately.
3.8 Inform RideTandem immediately if the Operator is no longer willing or able to supply Transport Services to RideTandem’s Customers with a notice period at least equal in length to the cancellation terms set out in the Contract Particulars.
4. Operator Compliance
4.1 Notwithstanding the specific requirements below, the Operator shall be entirely responsible for the legal compliance of Transport Services provided.
4.2 RideTandem may carry out six monthly audit checks on all documents which theOperator must hold to operate legally and safely, including valid operator licence, public liability insurance, employer liability insurance, fleet insurance, OCRS, vehicle first use checks, fleet check rota documents and health and safety records.
4.3 RideTandem may carry out six monthly audit checks of driver documents, including valid licence and CPC card and valid enhanced DBS documents if applicable. The Operator must provide updates immediately if any of the previously mentioned licences have been revoked.
4.4 If during the audits any compliance or legal requirement is breached as per theRideTandem operator audit process then RideTandem has the right to terminate theService Specification with immediate effect. This also applies if the Operator fails to inform RideTandem of any breach or issues with any of the items listed in paragraphs 4.2 or 4.3 or any other issues which may arise which may jeopardise the operation of the Transport Services.
4.5 The Operator must inform RideTandem regarding any issues which may arise that lead to enquiries from the Traffic Commissioner as soon as feasibly possible.
4.6 The Operator must provide a copy of their Health and Safety policy to RideTandem and/or any Customer on request.
4.7 In any instance where the allocated work cannot be filled from within the Operator’s own fleet and/or drivers. RideTandem must be notified and are required to approve the ‘sub-contracting’ of any work. Any decision to sub-contract in accordance with the terms of this Agreement does not limit the Operator’s obligations under this Agreement. The Operator shall ensure that any subcontractor meets the requirements imposed on the Operator (including but not limited to verifying applicable licenses and insurance documentation)
5. Vehicle Compliance
5.1 All vehicles have operator licence disc present and have required insurance as set out int he Operator Terms.
5.2 All vehicles are inspected and roadworthy in line with their age and usage in line with statutory regulation.
5.3 All vehicles must use any RideTandem or Customer branding or signage provided or agreed by RideTandem.
5.4 The Operator shall ensure that all required first aid equipment and fire extinguishers are available on the vehicles and comply with Health & Safety regulations.
5.5 The Operator must keep maintenance logs relating to all vehicles used on RideTandem services, such records to be available in the event of an audit.
6. Commitment to provide accurate and timely allocation information by:
6.1 Providing vehicle and driver allocations at least 3 hours’ prior to the service time and ensuring such allocations and service times are correct.
6.2 Any allocation alterations to be communicated immediately to the RideTandem contact email. In any instance where allocation alteration is not provided up to 60 minutes before departure point these services will be liable for the Service Credits detailed in paragraph 2.3 above to be applied.
7. Driver Compliance
7.1 All drivers must have valid CPC documents.
7.2 All drivers must have received the relevant training on the RideTandem service route and Driver App. In extreme circumstances where drivers must be allocated at short notice and no trained drivers are available this must be agreed first of all with the RideTandem customer service team.
7.3 It is the Operator’s responsibility to ensure all drivers comply with all applicable driver regulations from time to time. If after agreeing to carry out a journey arranged throughRideTandem the journey time will be impacted by a driver break, the Operator should contact RideTandem using the contact phone number set out in the Contract Particulars and RideTandem will amend the journey schedule and inform all passengers of the intended break in journey.
8 Breakdown / Accident
8.1 The Operator must ensure the Passengers, Customer and RideTandem are covered in the event of a vehicle breakdown or accident.
8.2 In the event of a breakdown or accident, the Operator and/or the driver must informRideTandem of the incident happening immediately and then a follow up call must be made from the Operator to the RideTandem 24 hour contact number within 5 minutes of the incident occurring (wherever possible).
8.3 The Operator must wherever possible provide a replacement vehicle within 60 minutes of the incident taking place (if there are no injuries) to continue the journey with minimum disruption to the Passengers and/or Customer. In the event where this is not possible then taxis must be organised to complete the journey. It is the Operator’s responsibility to provide the taxis and to cover the cost.
8.4 In the event of an Operator error occurring impacting customer satisfaction, Ride Tandem will seek a suitable resolution with the Operator by way of mutual agreement. Such resolution may include but is not limited to recovering costs for onward travel by way of credit to RideTandem’s invoice or recovering the costs of refunds to Customers where the quality of the experience has been affected. Such occurrences are highly rare but may arise and RideTandem may have to move Passengers in taxis to their destination if left behind by driver error.