Volunteer transport groups under threat

Charity transport schemes across Shropshire are reaching crisis point with rising fuel prices hitting the pockets of volunteer drivers.

Bosses behind the organisations say hundreds of volunteers are effectively being forced to subsidise the service as petrol prices rocket above the amount they can reclaim for mileage. And the thousands of passengers using the schemes could see a rise in fares in order to combat the rise in fuel, now at more than £5 a gallon.

Although some schemes are managed or subsidised by Shropshire County Council and Telford & Wrekin Council, many of the smaller community projects are run by volunteers in rural areas.

Matt Johnson, county council passenger transport policy officer, said he was involved with co-ordinating more than 450 volunteers in the Voluntary Car Scheme.

"We have two schemes, the VCS, which we manage in-house and on a contractual basis. We also have a large pool of volunteers in rural areas, usually sitting at a kitchen table with a diary."He said the most the drivers could reclaim was 40p per mile, a rate set by the Government in the 2002/2003 financial year before fuel prices rocketed.

"We rely on volunteers and there are quite a few schemes across the county, including the Bridgnorth Community Car Service which is one of the longest running in England and began just after the war.

"We are not facing a rush of volunteers resigning because of the cost of fuel but our drivers have been active in writing to MPs, lobbying them because there will be an inevitable downturn in volunteers as they are effectively subsidising the service through their own pockets."

Neal Urquhart, in charge of the day-to-day running of Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride, said the service was operating at a loss since the price of fuel went up.

"We are struggling, it's hit us very hard, as the price has gone from 93p a litre to £1.19."

Transport manager for Wrekin Community Cars Gordon Fielding said volunteer drivers in Telford had dropped from 100 to 35 in the last nine years.

He said: "Many of our volunteers, when they get their monthly claims back, are saying 'we can't really afford to do this'.

"It's very sad because we are dealing with people who can't access public transport, they can't get to a bus stop or if they could, they couldn't get on the bus. It's very worrying.

"We do need more volunteers, we are desperate. The majority of those who use our service live alone and we are sometimes their only opportunity to get out of the house."

Anyone wishing to volunteer should contact Mr Fielding on (01952) 211477.