Without a car, it is becoming harder and harder for some rural people to get to essential services such as the doctor, the post office or the bank, to get to training or work opportunities, or even just visit family and friends. One solution is to p...
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Taxi! - 30 March 04

Surrey Country Council and the Countryside Agency have produced a toolkit on setting up taxi voucher schemes following the success of a pilot scheme in Tandrige, Surrey.


Without a car, it is becoming harder and harder for some rural people to get to essential services such as the doctor, the post office or the bank, to get to training or work opportunities, or even just visit family and friends. One solution is to provide people in rural areas with vouchers that they can use with local taxis. Following a successful pilot scheme, the Countryside Agency and Surrey County Council have produced a toolkit for local authorities to enable them to set up taxi voucher schemes in their areas.

Launching the Taxi Voucher Toolkit at the Young People and Rural Exclusion conference in London today (Tuesday 30 March), the Rt. Hon. Alun Michael, Minister of State for Rural Affairs said: “Our countryside would be a much poorer place if you could only live there if you had a car. Rural people both young and old would have to move to areas where there was adequate public transport and access to services.

“The taxi voucher scheme is an innovative solution to help people in rural areas maintain their independence in the community and helps to counter social exclusion. I am delighted to be able to launch this toolkit here today.”

Paul Coen, chief executive of Surrey County Council said: “The experience gained from our pilot project in Tandridge has shown just how effective the taxi voucher scheme can be. The scheme enables people to access a means of travel as and when they need it. It is simple, targeted and effective, easy to administer and represents value for money.”

Richard Wakeford, chief executive of the Countryside Agency said: “Lack of available transport is one of the key concerns to people in rural areas and a major contributor to social exclusion. Working with partners to test ideas and then share examples of good practice has allowed us through our Vital Villages programme to deliver the best solutions to meet the needs of rural communities. Taxi vouchers are an excellent way for local authorities to provide an effective service and give rural people control of their transport needs ”.

Work on the taxi voucher toolkit began in response to the Countryside Agency publication of ‘Great ways to go’ (CA62) in April 2001. It gives examples of good practice around England where local communities have found appropriate solutions to their transport problems, and is a useful guide for information on rural transport solutions.

The toolkit looks at the benefits a taxi voucher scheme can deliver to all those involved, the members, drivers, organisers and funders. It provides  information and pointers that will help local groups set up a simple and effective scheme in response to their specific transport needs.

The advice in the toolkit is largely based on the experience of the members and organisers of the Tandridge taxi voucher scheme, which was one of the first schemes to be set up in the UK.                                                                                    

Also included in the toolkit are two examples where taxi vouchers have been used effectively in smaller communities. One in Hallaton, a parish in Leicestershire, and the other in Ellingham, an isolated community in Northumberland, both poorly served by public transport.

The Taxi Voucher Toolkit is available to download from our website:
www.countryside.gov.uk/VitalVillages  

Alternatively, you can order a printed copy from:

Countryside Agency Publications, PO Box 125, Wetherby, West Yorkshire   LS23 7EP, Tel 0870 120 6466
Fax:      0870 120 6467
Email:     countryside@twoten.press.net

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Notes to editors:

To arrange an interview or for more information please contact the Countryside Agency press office on 020 7340 2909/2907/2906.  

Surrey County Council Communications Officer, Angela Lovell on 020 8541 9708

For more information on rural transport visit the Countryside Agency website: www.countryside.gov.uk  

The Countryside Agency is the statutory body working to make the quality of life better for people in the countryside and the quality of the countryside better for everyone.

The Tandridge Taxi Voucher Scheme has been running now for over 7 years. It started with a pilot scheme for 100 people. The scheme enables people who cannot access existing transport services because of mobility problems or rural isolation, to travel using vouchers to pay or part pay for taxi journeys.  

Funding for the scheme comes jointly from Surrey County Council and Tandridge District Council.   By working in partnership with Parish Councils the scheme has recently received grant-aid to enhance the scheme for the 2003-4, and 2004-5, from the Countryside Agency through the Parish Transport Grant.   In the year 2003-2004 the scheme had a membership of 700.