Pensioners to lose Dial-a-Ride bus service

Disabled pensioners in the Cannock Chase area will lose a free bus service taking them from home to shopping centres and hospital appointments.

The move prompted accusations that Cannock Chase Council is ignoring needs of elderly people.

The Dial-a-Ride service was introduced in April after a free taxi tokens system was axed because of spiralling costs. Dial-a-Ride lets disabled, blind and partially-sighted people pre-book a place on a bus which takes them from home to shopping centres and hospitals.

The scheme was paid for by Chase council, but it is to end funding because responsibility for the service is expected switch to Staffordshire County Council next year and elderly people face a year without provision – if the country council decides to reinstate it in the area.

Ethel Powell, aged 89, of Hatherton Road, said: "I think it's a disgrace, they don't ever seem to consider anybody but themselves."

Council leader Neil Stanley said anything above a legal minimum was expected to go to the county next year meaning Cannockpaying with no guarantee of getting the service in the area. The scheme officially ends on March 31.