ELDERLY and disabled people may be forced to pay higher transport fares for a second year running following a review.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed it is considering increasing the price of its Ring and Ride service's single fare from £1.20 to £1.50 next April in a bid to save £90,000.

Single fares for the service, operated by Greater Manchester Accessible Transport Ltd (GMATL), rose from £1 in April.

At a meeting on July 14 TfGM committee members also discussed stopping free travel for those with Concessionary Plus Pass, which accounts for 41 per cent of all Ring and Ride users.

That would save the public body £300,000.

TfGM currently gives GMATL a £4.66 million grant to run the service, which costs a total of £5.4 million.

Ring and Ride provides discounted minibus journeys of six miles or less in Greater Manchester for people with significant disabilities and mobility issues and those aged 70 or over.

The age of eligibility increased from 60 or over last year in another cost cutting exercise.

Howard Hartley, TfGM's head of bus for Greater Manchester, said: “We continuously review the services we pay for to make sure they provide the best service for customers, value for the public purse and are delivered in the most cost-effective way.

“No decisions have been made and these are proposals that will require further work to investigate.

"Any changes will be communicated with users and the wider public well in advance of being implemented.

“TfGM is committed to making travel easier, supporting essential public transport services and investing in ongoing improvements to the transport network as a whole to enhance the quality of life for everyone in Greater Manchester and help drive the economic growth of the region.”

To use Ring and Ride you must hold a TfGM Concessionary Plus Pass, a TfGM Concessionary Disabled Person Pass; be 70 or over, have mobility issues and hold a TfGM Over 60 Concessionary Pass; or be a TfGM Travel voucher user.