Cuts force Oxfordshire Dial-a-Ride service to close

A firm that provided a dial-a-ride service for people with mobility problems in Oxfordshire has been closed after it lost a council contract.

Banburyshire Community Transport Association shut on Friday following the creation of a county-wide service.

It previously got about £190,000-a-year from Cherwell District Council and almost £30,000 from the county council.

A reduced service will now be provided by the county's Integrated Transport Unit.

Oxfordshire County Council's deputy leader Rodney Rose said there would be an impact on the level of service because the provision in Cherwell had been "fantastic".

"It was a Rolls Royce service but the bottom line is when you remove that level of funding you would expect it to have an impact," Mr Rose said.

The county-wide service provides one bus, five days a week in each district.

Cherwell District Council will still be contributing an extra £30,000-a-year which will mean residents there will get an extra bus three days a week.

The other three districts and one city council in Oxfordshire are not providing any extra funding to the central service.