Dial-A-Ride services in Staffordshire face the axe
Dial-A-Ride in Staffordshire could be scrapped as the county council prepares to cut the amount it subsidises transport services by more than half.
The council currently supports the county's network of buses and Dial-A-Ride services by paying out £2.6million a year.
But next April, the subsidy pot will be reduced to £1.3m.
It will mean some services could no longer receive financial support, including all Dial-A-Ride service, which depends solely on council funding.
The council says it can no longer afford to continue supporting some services, which it states cost as much as £10 per passenger journey.
It is launching a consultation this month on four options on how to spend the subsidies.
They range from ending funding for Dial-A-Ride services and maintaining the greatest number of bus routes, to continuing to provide a county-wide network of Dial-A-Ride services, but no subsidises for any bus journeys.
No decision will be made until after the consultation, but the council has already said its preferred option is to end funding for Dial-A-Ride services.
Mark Deaville, the county council's cabinet member responsible for transport, said: “All bus journeys in Staffordshire are operated by private bus companies or voluntary and community groups - and 90 per cent of these are made without any subsidy.
“However, some people might be surprised to hear that we do still subsidise some journeys on buses by much as £10 per passenger trip because they can’t be run on a commercial basis.
“As a county council we have to balance how much of taxpayers’ money we can afford to spend on subsiding travel against the need to protect the funding of statutory services such as adult social care.
"This year we will need to spend a record £300m on care alone.
“Some authorities have stopped subsidising buses, but in Staffordshire £1.3m will still be spent on this next year and the public consultation is the chance for people to have their say on subsidised bus travel and how the budget we have available for next year can be best spent.”
Dial-A-Ride services in Staffordshire operate in Rugeley, Cannock, Hednesford and surrounding areas.
The consultation will provide more detail on the bus services which are subsidised.
It will run for eight weeks, closing on September 17. People can have their say by going on www.staffordshire.go.uk/busreview from July 24.
A final decision will be made by the cabinet in the autumn with the changes implemented in April.
