Plenty of rings, but too few rides

A MOORSIDE woman said she has been frustrated by trying to book the Oldham Ring and Ride service for her 97-year-old mother.

Wynn Brady, from Moorside, uses the transport service to take her mother Sally Littlewood to Throstle Court in Royton twice a week. But over the past five weeks, she says, she has never been quite sure whether the service would be available.

Mrs Brady said: “I call at 9.30am the day before, as they ask, but I never know whether they will be able to take my mother. Sometimes they can, sometimes I’m told nothing is available, sometimes they can only offer a return journey. Ring and Ride is wonderful, its a lifeline for people like my mother, and the drivers are brilliant. But people don’t realise that for many older people, this is the only way they can get out once a week.”

Each Ring and Ride journey to the day centre costs 80p, compared with £16 by taxi. She said although her mother still lives independently in Chadderton, she cannot use public transport.

Mrs Brady said: “I’m not sure what the solution is, and it’s a shame there isn’t something we can rely on week in week out.”

Drivers are due to strike today and December 15 over a pay dispute, although negotiations between unions and managers continue.

A spokesman for Ring and Ride said “This passenger is a regular user of Ring and Ride and we’ve been able to accommodate almost all her requests for journeys in the past. Recently Ring and Ride has not been able to meet a small number of her journey requests. We will always make every effort to accommodate passengers’ requests, but journeys are booked on a first-come-first-served basis and there is a limited number of places available.”