MANY disabled and elderly people in Darlington have "given up" on their local Ring-a-Ride service, according to a new report.

The document, to be presented to Darlington Transport Forum this evening, says that the service is unable to meet demand. In the report, council officers said: "Users are unable to book journeys from Ring-a-Ride due to a lack of capacity in this service.

"The council contracts for 1.5 vehicles to be available for such work during daytime hours, but this has proved to be inadequate to meet the demand and does not answer the travel needs of those who wish to travel 'out-of-hours'.

"Recent figures suggest that many potential users have given up trying to book the Ring-a-Ride service."

Officers have proposed a review of the current arrangements for the service, which ends on March 31 next year.

The report also reveals a severe shortage of accessible taxis. Officers said: "This restriction in supply is due to the reluctance of the trade to invest in bespoke taxis. Rather, many operators prefer to purchase saloon or estate cars for taxi and private hire work."

The Transport Forum meeting takes place in the town hall at 7pm.