Dial-A-Lift service ‘under threat’ due to funding

REVELATIONS that a vital transport service is on the brink of closure has been met with anger and dismay.

Easilink, which offers the Dial-A-Lift service for almost 450 elderly and disabled people across Strabane, Omagh and Derry, may cease to exist from May, unless a new funding stream is found.

Funded by the Department for Infrastructure, Dial-A-Lift is one of a number of services which benefitted from the Rural Community Transport Fund. That fund has a budget of £2.2m and these monies cannot be sustained past the end of April due to a lack of government in Stormont.

As Easilink CEO Claire Russell explained, “We were told at a meeting in February that come the end of April, the Department would be unlikely to guarantee funding at any level due to the on-going impasse in Stormont, meaning that the service would undoubtedly have to cease. The Rural Community Transport Fund is relatively small in the grand scheme of things, but it’s huge for us and those who use our service, consisting of 190 people in Strabane and 140 in Omagh, making up the bulk of users.

“We cater for the elderly and disabled, some of the most vulnerable in society, who will be lost without the bus. Simply put, if we cannot secure funding then we cannot run the service, isolating a great many people who rely on the bus to bring them into town, to bring them into hospital, to do their shopping, or just come into town to see family. They don’t want to rely on family to bring them places because the understand people have busy lives, plus it takes away a semblance of independence. This will leave a section of society feeling extremely lonely and vulnerable; there’s no logic to it.”

She continued, “Not only will this impact our users but there is the inevitable staffing impact. We employ 23 staff at the Strabane office and, even on reduced funding, there is literally no way of sustaining that and we cannot run on a month-to-month basis with all the uncertainty that brings. Also there is no opportunity for obtaining funding from elsewhere as the fund is run by DfI so we have to wait and see what transpires in the coming months.

“We at Easilink are appealing for those in power to listen to what is going on, listen to the stories of people who are going to be affected by the decisions and the impact this will have on our members, and advocate for something to be done.”

Also commenting was Strabane councillor, Raymond Barr. He said, “Easilink is a lifeline of essential transport. Those who use the service are in rural areas and cannot afford taxis. Losing the service will cause immeasurable damage to the lives of its users. DfI say it’s a ‘discretionary service’ – that’s rubbish; it’s an essential service to those who sorely need it. This is just another victim of the on-going Stormont impasse.”

A spokesperson for DfI said they recognised the importance of the service but that “extremely difficult decisions” had to be taken while a budget for 2023/24 had not been confirmed.