£1 million boost for door-to-door transport in Rochdale

Councillor Allen Brett with Flexible Transport Group staff

Rochdale residents are being encouraged to give their local door-to-door public transport services a go, after more than £1 million investment made the district one of the best-served boroughs in Greater Manchester.

Last year, over 150,000 passenger journeys were made on a range of door-to-door services run by four different Rochdale-based groups. Now, they have come together to form a ‘Flexible Transport Group’, to share booking systems and help get even more people on board.

The low-cost, easily-accessible services offer all the convenience of a taxi, but like a bus, passengers may travel with other people. Most can be booked with just an hour’s notice and will take people where they want to go within their local area. Some can be booked by local community groups for trips and outings farther afield.

Councillor Allen Brett, Deputy Chairman and Rochdale spokesperson for Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, said: “The Authority has worked hard with local community transport operators to develop door-to-door services and encourage operators to work more closely together. It’s great to see so many now on offer in Rochdale.

“They are very good value for money and convenient, providing easy access to health and leisure facilities as well as linking in to the public transport network.

“There are now 18 vehicles for trips around the borough through a handful of different organisations. Most people will be able to take advantage of one of these services, it’s just a case of letting people know it’s there for them to use.

“I’m sure that once more people know about what great services are on offer, even more people will give them a go.”

Responding to the news, Rochdale MP and Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesman Paul Rowen said: "I welcome this investment and I am especially delighted to see that affordable transport for local community groups will be extended.

"I would be interested to see whether any investment will go into replacing bus services that have been lost like the one in Deeplish. The result of this means that for many elderly residents free Consessionary off-peak services are no longer a reality.

"That said, I am delighted to see an improvement to transport services and would encourage people to take advantage by registering with the Ring and Ride and other services. I am happy to see the Council working alongside other agencies like the GMPTA and other agencies in providing this valuable service."

Middleton Local Link covers a wide area around the town and Deeplish Local Link covers the Deeplish and Milkstone areas.
These services are available for anyone in the local operating area to use. To book a journey passengers can call 0845 605 55 05.

As well as Local Link, community groups, clubs and societies active in Rochdale can use services provided by Heywood New Heart Community Transport, Rochdale Community Transport, and  RoFTRA (Rochdale Federation Tenants and Residents Association) who all have vehicles available.

For more information on RoFTRA, please call 01706 764 808.

Ring amp; Ride is available for anyone in Rochdale who can not use conventional public transport. To find out more about this service and how to register visit:

• www.ringandride.info

or call 0161 652 0248.

For more information on any of these schemes visit:

• www.gmpte.com

or call Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 (calls cost 10p per minute from landlines). Lines are open from 7am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 8pm at weekends.