Woman 'cut off' if disabled travel scheme scrapped

Natalie Vranje said the NoWcard is her "only option" for travel

A woman has said she will be "upset, isolated and cut off" if plans to scrap a disability travel scheme go ahead.

Lancashire County Council is proposing to remove a discounted £1 fare available for people with a disabled person's NoWcard who travel before 09:30 Monday to Friday.

Natalie Vranjes, from Lancaster, said it is her "only option" for travel.

The council said any decisions would have to go through the cabinet, but it needs to make savings.

Scrapping the concession will save £239,000, the county council said

Currently the card allows holders to travel free of charge after 09:30 and with the discount before then.

The move will save £239,000 the authority said, but some users say this will have an adverse impact.

Ms Vranjes said she uses her NoWcard almost every day and is worried about losing the concession.

The 44-year-old said: "I can't afford taxi fares, the only option I have is to use the bus, and I got the NoWcard for that purpose.

"I have in the past had appointments before half-past nine and I didn't have a pound on me, and I had to miss my appointment because of it."

Other measures the council is considering to save money include stopping the young person’s travel scheme, which provides free bus passes to 16-18-year-olds who are not working or studying, or who are carers or young parents.

Cabinet member for highways and transport Rupert Swarbrick said: "It's absolutely not a done deal by any means and any proposals like this would have to go through cabinet.

"What we did do in February this year was to undertake to review our budget as we're constantly doing and this is one of a number of strands of our budget that we're reviewing and it's an opportunity for us potentially to make some savings."

The consultation is running until 18 November.