People across west Oxfordshire who depend on dial-a-ride services may see changes as a result of a county council review.
A public consultation on the funding of the services ended on Saturday, having attracted nearly 600 responses from users and parishes around the county.
Two district dial-a-rides operate in Oxfordshire – the Octabus, which serves west Oxfordshire, Oxford City and the Vale of White Horse, and the Cherwell service. No services are run in south Oxfordshire.
Neil Timberlake, assistant public transport officer for Oxfordshire County Council, told the Oxfordshire Guardian: “Basically, the purpose of the consultation was to give us a steer towards the design and the scope of the service.
“What's happened in the past is that we have entered into funding arrangements with the district councils to jointly provide for dial-a-ride services in the area. What's changing now is that we will fund a baseline service across the whole county regardless of any district council funding.
“The funding that we have available is around £160,000 for the baseline service across the whole county. It will then be up to each district council to top up the service in their district.”
If district councils choose to top up the baseline funding provided by the council, they will be able to secure a longer period of service each day, or provide a daily service or add to the number of buses available to provide services in that district.
“However, if district councils choose not to top up the baseline funding, this means that a limited service would run.”
Ruth Swift, community development officer for Age UK in west Oxfordshire, said: “West Oxfordshire is very rural and people live in small villages and hamlets. The older people get the less likely they are to use their car.
“The Octabus is a lifeline. There is a lot of concern about it changing among the older people themselves. They are used to using the Octabus because they know what to do and when to take it. When you make any change it’s very confusing. That's not to say change isn't a good thing, though, but it can be very confusing for that age category.”
Dial-a-ride is a pre-booked, door-to-door, wheelchair-accessible public transport service for disabled and mobility-impaired people.
The results of the public consultation will be published by November 30 and a decision on the delivery of the provision will be made by January.
