Rural transport plan on the right track

AN exciting project exploring new ways of providing Saddleworth with more effective, specialist transport links has received an enthusiastic welcome.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Oldham Council will work together on the scheme after winning an £81,000 grant from the Government’s Total Transport Pilot Fund.

The Oldham Shared Transport project will examine how existing bus and minibus services can be brought together to deliver more efficient travel options in rural communities.

TfGM’s “demand-responsive” services, including Local Link, Ring & Ride and Oldham Council’s Social Services, special education and non-emergency patient transport services, will all form part of the pilot. If successful, the approach could benefit other areas of Greater Manchester.

Councillor Andrew Fender, chairman of the TfGM Committee, said: “Saddleworth has a population of around 25,000 in a predominantly rural area and its geography makes providing effective specialist transport links a particular challenge. This has become even more apparent as local authority budget cuts have started to bite. More and more people have started to fall through the gaps.

“We hope this pilot will prove invaluable for some of the most vulnerable members of our community by addressing the way specialist transport services have evolved in our health and local authority sectors.”

Councillor Dave Hibbert, Oldham Council’s cabinet member for housing, planning and highways, said: “It’s vital we strive to provide the best possible connections in the villages of Saddleworth when budgets are reducing.”

Denshaw, the community’s most isolated village, has faced big transport problems, said Alan Roughley, chairman of the village’s community association.

He said: “This useful but relatively modest grant would perhaps be best used to extend the excellent and well-used Saddleworth Local Link. A connection to Metrolink at Mumps would be fantastic. If our rural areas could be integrated into the regional network it would bring real benefits. Is it too much to ask for an integrated transport policy for Saddleworth?.

Dr Andrew Taylor, chairman of Greenfield and Grasscroft Residents’ Association, said:”It is very good news organisations are to come together to research the very particular residents’ needs — a unique arrangement of communities with uniquely complex transport needs.”


email: kd_bennett@yahoo.co.uk