Councillor Steve Kulka has resigned from the Dial A Ride review panel in protest.

Published in Redhill & Reigate LIFE, Surrey Mirror and Horley LIFE on Sun 13th Feb 2005

Councillor Steve Kulka has felt it necessary to resign from the position of chair of the Transport Review Scrutiny Panel in protest. This panel was set up to review transport facilities for the frail elderly and young or old disabled.

When asked why he said "The Conservative Leader of the Council has made statements in the local press that proves that she has already decided that the Dial A Ride service is going to be withdrawn despite massive public opinion. The same thing happened to the Meals on Wheels service under the Conservatives.

She has undermined the reason for the Transport Review Panels existence and I have therefore resigned the chair in protest, although I am still prepared to contribute to the work of the panel".

He went on to say "The work of this panel is about helping the frail elderly and young or old disabled to maintain their independence and quality of life. It's not about getting the least you can get away with for the lowest cost.

We should have been deciding on whether Taxi Vouchers or Dial A Ride is the best way to achieve this and when I look at all the information available to me, Dial A Ride is the best value service for what is actually required by the people that need it".

The reason that this is being discussed, is that out of the £120 K that it costs to fund the Dial A Ride service, Conservative controlled Surrey County Council are now only willing to pay £30K towards the running costs.

Steve Kulka

Liberal Democrat Councillor

on Reigate & Banstead Borough Council