Council scraps disability travel scheme

Two subsidised travel schemes have been scrapped by Lancashire County Council.

A discretionary £1 fare before 09:30 GMT for those with the disabled persons NoWcard will end in April.

From July, free bus travel for young people who are not in education, employment or training will also end.

The cabinet member for highways and transport, Rupert Swarbrick, said: "The withdrawal is regrettable but it does allow us to contribute to the overall balancing of the corporate budget."

There are around 10,000 NoWcards in circulation and the consultation over the cut to the service saw 510 people take part, with 81% of them disagreeing with the move to scrap the subsidised fare.

The free young person's travel scheme is used by an average of 139 apprentices a month, alongside 35 people eligible for other reasons.

When questioned at a meeting of the Cabinet over the rigour of the consultation, Mr Swarbrick said the council had "engaged in a very thorough manner".

The scrapping of both these schemes will save the council about £394,000.

The leader of the Labour group on the council, Matthew Tomlinson, said: "This quite cruel decision actually costs the county council such a tiny amount of money, we think it's the wrong decision."

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