Disability charity closes accessible transport service due to “significant running costs”
Hertfordshire Action on Disability (HAD) has announced that it will close its accessible transport service for disabled people in April.
Based in Welwyn Garden City, the Charity provides a range of services to disabled people to help them remain independent, including an equipment centre, a driving centre and its accessible transport service.
Operating 24 hours a day, the transport service provides accessible vehicles for disabled people to get them to work, doctor’s appointments, shopping, holidays and other leisure activities.
However, HAD is set to close its transport service as it cannot keep up with the running costs.
HAD Trustee Mike Thompson told the Welwyn Hatfield Times: “We have thought long and hard before making this difficult decision.
“The charity is very grateful to all of our customers that have used the service over the years, but I am afraid we simply cannot continue to incur the significant costs that running such a complex service entails.
“We have looked at all of the options to try and keep the transport service going but unfortunately we cannot find a way to do so without substantial funding, which is not available from either external sources or from within the charity.”
The charity maintained that its other services will continue to run in order to help local, disabled residents.
HAD’s equipment centre provides a variety of mobility and daily living products such as walking aids, mobility scooters, wheelchairs, rise & recline chairs, kitchen and household items and bathing aids.
Additionally, the charity’s driving centre offers driving ability assessments for people to decide what type of vehicle would be most suitable for them and whether they would need any vehicle adaptations.
It has available ten dual-controlled vehicles, most of which are specially adapted. The adaptations include hand controls, lightened power steering, left foot accelerator pedal and remote controls.
