Cut price journeys welcomed

The first community group has benefitted from Redditch’s new cheaper community transport fees.

Members of the Christ Church Lunch Club in Matchborough became the first group to travel at Redditch Dial A Ride’s new lower prices when the changes came into effect today (Thursday August 1).

Redditch Borough Councillors voted to slash journey fees by up to 50% on Monday.

Redditch Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Services, Cllr Monica Stringfellow, said: “Dial A Ride customers are already benefitting from this change, and it was lovely to chat to some of our passengers today and to hear first hand how pleased they are about the reduction. I hope that many more people and groups will use our highly accessible, great value community transport service to enable their activities too.”

Council Leader, Cllr Joe Baker, added: “This council wants to overcome and remove barriers between people and their communities wherever possible. That’s a big reason why we have ensured that this service is very affordable for people in Redditch.”

Dial A Ride, which was used for over 17,000 journeys last year, is a door-to-door service for borough residents who cannot use public transport. It uses modern wheelchair-accessible minibuses with low rise steps for easy access and runs Monday to Friday with first pick-ups from 8.50am and last pick-ups at 4.20pm, except Fridays which are 4pm.

It regularly visits all the major supermarkets, venues for groups like Age UK, the Ecumenical Centre, and others, and the town centre - for which the team can also book customers a Shopmobility scooter or wheelchair for their arrival. The team can even arrange town centre escorts.

Register for Dial A Ride by calling 01527 64910, for just £15 a year. For more information, call the team or visit www.redditchbc.gov.uk/DialARide.

Dial a Ride now costs just £2.50 a journey with a concessionary bus pass (£3.50 for medical journeys) or £3.50 without (£4.50 for medical journeys).