Demand growing for Flintshire's Ring and Ride Service

More than 1,000 Flintshire people have benefitted from the Council’s Ring and Ride service since it was launched in 2017.

The service is designed to provide low-cost door-to-door transport to health appointments for residents who are unable to access bus services or do not have alternative transport.

With demand for the service now outgrowing the available budget, Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet is being asked to review the scheme.

Since 2000, there have been more than 7,000 bookings with travel arranged to and from a wide range of health-related appointments.

As a result of the increasing number of users and demand for the service, the cost of running it has increased significantly and is projected to exceed the available budget for 2024/25 by more than £40,000.

A review of the service showed that the increased usage is down to the number of journeys being made which do not meet the current criteria.

A report to Cabinet recommends withdrawal of the service for users who do not meet the eligibility criteria and for the annual registration fee and charges for the service to be increased to achieve a balanced budget position.

Existing users currently pay an annual registration fee for £10 to become a member, plus a charge of 45p per mile for their journey. These charges have not been reviewed since the service was launched in 2017.

It is being proposed that the registration fee is increased to £20 for the year and a minimum charge of £2.50 is introduced for all journeys not exceeding 5 miles.

Katie Wilby, Chief officer for Streetscene and Transportation, said:

“Ring and Ride is an invaluable service for people with mobility problems or difficulties who cannot use ordinary public transport some or all of the time, and don’t have their own transport.  It provides accessible door-to-door transport to doctor, dentist and hospital appointments.

“It is vital that the scheme keeps running for those who need it most and to achieve this we must ensure that only essential journeys which meet the criteria are being made.

“We appreciate that withdrawing the service from ineligible users may have an impact on vulnerable people who currently use it, and we will ensure that these people are signposted to alternative transport solutions.”

The service is available to residents who are eligible and who qualify under certain criteria. 

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