Government urged to help save Ring and Ride service
The Government has been urged to step in and help save Ring and Ride services in the Black Country.
Dudley North MP Ian Austin said the service was a "lifeline" for the thousands of elderly and vulnerable who use it across the region.
Ring and Ride, which takes people to day centres, supermarkets and hospitals, has been left facing an uncertain future after its operator Accessible Transport Group (ATG) collapsed into administration.
Ring and Ride passengers: Loss of vital service would leave us stranded
Emergency funding has been secured to keep day-to-day services running while administrators try to secure its future.
Mr Austin, Labour MP for Dudley North, raised the issue in Parliament and urged Justin Tomlinson, parliamentary under-secretary of state for the Department of Work and Pensions, and representatives from the Department of Transport, to meet with him to discuss how the service can be saved.
He said: “Ring and Ride is a lifeline for thousands of people in the Black Country. It helps disabled people to get to projects, socialise and help to boost their skills & confidence. For pensioners it can be their only transport, helping them to get out the house and combat loneliness & isolation.
“I think it would have a devastating effect on those who rely on it if the service was to collapse.
“I hope the Government will commit to saving Ring and Ride. I promise I’ll be doing what I can to save the service for people in the Black Country.”
ATG employs more than 900 staff across its various charities and also runs school transport for students with special needs in Wolverhampton and Sandwell.
Both Wolverhampton and Sandwell councils have said they are working with administrators Duff & Phelps to ensure schools transport continues to run as normal.
Transport for West Midlands and Birmingham City Council have provided funding to ensure Ring and Ride buses can remain on the roads.
