VITAL ring and ride services providing a lifeline to vulnerable people in and around Tavistock could have to fold if the Government enforces European regulations, its operators have warned.

The Tavistock and District Local Transport Partnership is one of 14 community transport schemes across Devon facing an uncertain future after a commercial bus company challenged current UK guidance in the European courts.

As a result, community buses with more than nine seats would be subject to the same regulations as buses, minibuses and coaches run for profit and community transport drivers would have to have the same qualifications as professional drivers.

Up to now, community transport, run for the benefit of local people, has effectively been exempt from full commercial licensing.

Partnership chairman Stephen Fryer said: ‘Ultimately, we could be closed down and the people who are able to get out and about independently won’t be able to anymore. That is what it ultimately comes down to.

‘We are still trying to work out what it means to our ring and ride service, how it affects us. Because we are so small, we are hoping we will go under the radar.

‘It is worrying, not only for our passengers but also our staff, because there are three full-time jobs and a part-time job riding on this. They could be out of a job and one of our drivers has been with us virtually all his working life.’

The charity operates a ‘ring and ride’ service from outlying villages into the town, allowing disabled and elderly people to access community services, make appointments and go shopping. The minibuses are wheelchair accessible, and the service offered is door-to-door for a small charge.

‘It is so people can live independently and for people stuck in their homes it is a lifeline’ said Mr Fryer. ‘We take them shopping and when we take them back again, the driver will always take their shopping in and make sure they are back in their homes.’

Under the new rules, the drivers of both minibuses will have to apply for the same licence as the driver of a service run for profit, the Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) driving licence entitlement, at a cost of £1,700. The organisation itself would also have to have a commercial operator’s licence, moves which the charity warns would cripple them financially.

Representatives from the Tavistock and District Local Transport Partnership joined others from similar ‘ring and ride’ schemes across Devon to voice their concerns at a meeting at County Hall in Exeter earlier this month. It was attended by officials from the Department for Transport, who are currently consulting on the issue.

The transport associations appealed to the officials to find a way around the changes, which have come about because commercial coach companies in other parts of the country have community transport organisations bidding for competitively tendered contracts.

The county council, which subsidises ring and ride schemes, is aware that the new rules would mean that they could no longer help them meet their obligations to vulnerable people to access services in such a rural county.

These include such cases such as taking a disabled child to school, work which the Tavistock partnership undertakes.

The county council’s Cabinet member for community and public transport, Roger Croad, said: ‘This has all come about because of disputes between commercial bus companies and local community transport groups elsewhere in the UK.

‘It means that the volunteers who run buses for the benefit of their local communities will have to meet the same standards for their drivers and vehicles.

‘We fear that many local organisations which signed up as charitable concerns will say they do not want to effectively become commercial operators which would mean they could lose out on running future local authority contracts.’

The county council currently grants around £250,000 to 14 community schemes which operate pre-booked transport such as ring and ride and the community transport groups use that cash as a basis to qualify for more grants from other local councils and organisations.

There are around 239,000 passenger trips a year on community transport in Devon with 150 volunteers driving minibuses and 75 paid permit drivers.

Mr Croad said: ‘We will obviously work with these groups to help them comply with any new rules that come in. We also reiterate our promise to ensure that no community is completely cut off but firstly what we must do is ensure that the Government is well aware of the potential consequences of this action and we have contacted our MPs to alert them. We must all make sure that the continued existence of these vital community services is not put at risk.’

l Has the ring and ride service been a lifeline to you? Send your views to tavistockletters@ tavistock-today.co.uk