Dial a Ride Service Under Threat with £70K Cut

Swindon’s Conservative administration will be putting out to tender the services Swindon Dial a Ride currently provides, with a view to cutting £70K from the service as part of their 2013/14 budget proposals. The Labour Group Leader, Councillor Jim Grant, has criticised the Conservative administration for leaving Dial a Ride’s services under threat and has called on the Conservatives to reconsider their proposals.

Swindon’s Conservative administration will be putting out to tender the services Swindon Dial a Ride currently provides, with a view to cutting £70K from the service as part of their 2013/14 budget proposals. The Labour Group Leader, Councillor Jim Grant, has criticised the Conservative administration for leaving Dial a Ride’s services under threat and has called on the Conservatives to reconsider their proposals.

As part of the Conservative administration’s 2010 budget proposals there had been a proposal to cut the Dial a Ride service by £50,000; however this was reversed following a sustained campaign against this cut.

The Swindon Labour Group Leader, Councillor Jim Grant, said:

“I would like to express concern on behalf of the elderly and disabled users of the Dial a Ride service. Not only are the Conservatives proposing to cut the Dial a Ride service by £70K, but it would appear they are looking to flog the service off to another transport provider.

What this Conservative administration fails to understand is that Swindon Dial a Ride is a hugely valued service, and prevents Swindon’s elderly and disabled feeling isolated. And with the cuts they are proposing to make to Swindon’s mainstream bus services, the demand for the Dial a Ride service from our town’s elderly and disabled people is only going increase. It would be wrong to leave these people isolated from society.

The Labour Group will not accept any cuts to this service until further cuts are made to non-essential expenditure like the £1.8m the Council spends on consultants. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of the Dial a Ride staff and they do such a brilliant job, I do not think another transport provider could do as good a job as Swindon Dial a Ride does.”

Cllr Jim Grant
Swindon Labour Group Leader