Change to service could help slash 'astronomical' transport bills for West Midlands councils
Calls have been made for a lifeline service to be used to help West Midlands councils reduce "astronomical" transport bills they face every year.
Members of the West Midlands Combined Authority's Transport Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussed proposals for transforming the region's Ring & Ride service.
This includes moving to a new operating model and increasing fares for the first time since April 2017.
READ MORE: Major change to the price of bus passes and fares coming in the West Midlands - this is when
But committee member Councillor Robert Alden said one way of providing a more comprehensive Ring and Ride service would be for it to pick up some Home to School Transport trips.
As well as boosting the service, he said it would also ease the financial burden faced by local authorities across the West Midlands.
Demand for Ring and Ride services is growing steadily with figures showing 2,487 unique customers have taken a trip in the last six months.
Bosses said the last week of March was the busiest since the start of 2020 when the service was hit by Covid-19.
The authority still provides a subsidy of £6.467 million per year to run the service but this is a far cry from 2010/11 when its budget was around £12 million.
A report to the committee said fare income brings in around £250,000 per year and this is reinvested into the service.
Are car headlights too bright?
Councillor Alden said: "All of our councils have huge Home to School Transport bills that place significant financial pressures and cost astronomical amounts.
"There must be a way to operate this service that also picks up some of that Home To School Transport services across the region so there can be cross subsidisation.
"Councils can make a saving on their budget and can also help underpin the finances of Ring and Ride and allow for a more comprehensive service across the region that helps everyone."
Catherine Moore, Ring & Ride and Demand Responsive Transport Manager, said: "We have explored this.
"We will continue to explore it but the problem is the times don't always work when the Ring and Ride wish to travel and the Home to School Transport children.
"We have explored these conversations and we actually feel there might be some benefit from the Community Transport side we could perhaps further develop over the next few years."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
From £11m to £100m - how has Liverpool's record spending changed?
They say you get what you pay for - and Liverpool will be hoping that rings true in the case of Florian Wirtz. It is understood the initial fee for the 22-year-old will be a £100m, and with that Wirtz becomes the Reds' club record signing. Advertisement It is a badge that has been held by club captain Virgil van Dijk since he joined for £75m from Southampton in January 2018. Often praised for their shrewd business in recent years, it is not a regular occurrence for Liverpool to go out and break the bank to secure a player. With the arrival of Wirtz, since 2000 the Reds have set a new club record on seven occasions, so how has that spending evolved? Emile Heskey - £11m in 2000 The striker was the first club record signing after the turn of the century when he joined from Leicester for £11m - the third most expensive player in English football at the time. Advertisement It was a long-standing pursuit of Heskey for Liverpool but it proved worth it with the England international scoring 60 goals in 223 appearances and securing five medals before leaving for Birmingham City in 2004. Djibril Cisse - £14m in 2004 Four years after the signing of Heskey, the Reds broke their club record by £3m to bring in another forward in Cisse from French side Auxerre. The then 22-year-old suffered serious bad luck with injuries during his time at Anfield. However, he did still feature 79 times in two years and scored 24 goals. He also scored a crucial penalty in Liverpool's Champions League final shootout with AC Milan in 2005. Advertisement Fernando Torres - £20m in 2007 In a running theme, it was another striker three years later that would increase the club's record signing by £6m with the arrival of Torres from Atletico Madrid. The Spaniard became adored by Reds during his time on Merseyside, before an acrimonious £50m exit to Premier League rivals Chelsea in January 2011. In his four years, he played 142 times and scored an impressive 81 goals. Andy Carroll - £35m in 2011 Once again, the Reds brought in a number nine and broke the club record by £15m when signing Andy Carroll from Newcastle following the exit of Torres. Despite signing a five-and-a-half-year deal, it was a somewhat ill-fated time at Anfield for Carroll. He made just 58 appearances and netted 11 goals before making a loan move in 2012 and then permanent switch to West Ham in 2013. Advertisement Naby Keita - £48m in 2017 It would be six years before Liverpool would break their record again, this time spending £48m (plus a reported undisclosed premium) to secure the signature of Keita from RB Leipzig - a year before he would officially arrive in 2018. There were big expectations on the midfielder, but injuries hampered his time with the Reds - 129 appearances across five years - but he still came away with multiple winners' medals. Virgil van Dijk - £75m in 2018 It was a big-spending 12 months for Liverpool when they smashed their club record by £27m with the signing of Van Dijk from Southampton a year after Keita. Advertisement It was also a then world record fee for a defender and former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer said at the time the Netherlands international was "not worth it at all". However, 319 appearances and nine pieces of silverware later, it is safe to say it has been a success. Florian Wirtz - £100m in 2025 It has taken seven years for the Reds to break their own record again, but they will do that with Wirtz. Now, only time will tell whether it will go down as one of the success stories or relative disappointments.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US and UK sign a trade deal, but steel imports are still in question
US president Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir Starmer said Monday that they had signed a trade deal that will slash tariffs on UK auto and aerospace industry imports — but they are still discussing how to handle steel production. "We just signed it, and it's done," Trump said, as the pair spoke to reporters at the Group of Seven summit (G7) in the Canadian Rockies, with the US president brandishing the pages of what he said was a long-awaited agreement. The rollout was anything but smooth, however, as Trump dropped the papers and said at first that his administration had reached an agreement with the European Union when he meant the United Kingdom. The president said that the pact is "a fair deal for both" and would "produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income." British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said it meant "a very good day for both our countries, a real sign of strength." Reaching this agreement is a significant step as Trump has threatened much of the world with steep import tariffs that have unsettled markets and raised the possibility of a global trade war. Related President Trump says he'll set unilateral tariff rates within weeks UK economy contracts sharply in April: Will the BoE respond? He has since backed off on many of his proposed levies but also continued to suggest that administration officials were furiously negotiating new trade pacts with dozens of countries — even if few have yet to materialise. Trump said, "the UK is very well protected" from tariffs. "You know why? Because I like them." The signing of the deal at the G7 followed Trump and Starmer's announcement in May that they'd reached a framework for a trade pact that would slash US import taxes on British cars, steel and aluminium in return for greater access to the British market for US products, including beef and ethanol. But Monday's agreement fully covers only British cars and aerospace materials, with more work to come on steel. The British government said the new agreement removes US tariffs on UK aerospace products, exempting Britain from a 10% levy the Trump White House has sought to impose on all other countries — a boost to British firms, including engine-maker Rolls-Royce. It also sets the tax on British autos at 10% from the end of the month, down from the current 27.5%, up to a quota of 100,000 vehicles a year. UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the deal protects "jobs and livelihoods in some of our most vital sectors." Mike Hawes, chief executive of Britain's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said it was "great news for the UK automotive industry." There was no final agreement to cut the tax on British steel to zero as originally anticipated — seen as vital to preserving the UK's beleaguered steel industry. Britain's steel output has fallen 80% since the late 1960s due to high costs and the rapid growth of cheaper Chinese production. Related EU 'strongly regrets' Trump's announcement to double steel and aluminium tariffs to 50% Spring 2025 economic forecast: How much will Trump's tariffs hinder EU growth? After the two leaders spoke, the White House released a statement seeking to clarify matters, saying that with respect to steel and aluminium, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will "determine a quota of products that can enter the United States without being subject" to previous tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The British government said Monday that the plan was still for "0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed." Trump's executive order authorising the deal contained several references to the security of supply chains, reflecting the US administration's concerns about China. It said the UK "committed to working to meet American requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminium products intended for export to the United States." There was also no final deal on pharmaceuticals, where "work will continue," the UK said. The deal signed Monday also confirms that American farmers can export 13,000 metric tons (29 million pounds) of beef to the UK each year, and vice versa — though a British ban on hormone-treated beef remains in place.
Bloomberg
17 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Will America's Brexit Cancel Out Britain's Brexit?
Newsletter Money Distilled The US exodus sparked by Donald Trump's tariffs could see sterling return to $1.60, one analyst suggests. By Save Welcome to the award-winning Money Distilled newsletter. I'm John Stepek. Every week day I look at the biggest stories in markets and economics, and explain what it all means for your money. Here's a Friday afternoon brainteaser for you.
