Ring & Ride accessible minibuses

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE - Updated Tuesday 28th July

You must wear a face covering when using the public transport network, including at transport hubs and interchanges, unless you are exempt. If you don’t, you may be unable to travel and you could be fined £100. Read our face coverings guidance. Please let the contact centre know in advance if you are unable to wear a face covering due to one of the exceptions stated.

A reduced Ring and Ride service resumed Monday 18th May. Normal times will resume Monday 3rd August, as well as normal fares and an increased maximum capacity of six passengers on board the vehicles.

• The service currently operates Monday to Friday between 8am and 7pm. From Monday 3rd August normal times will resume and the service will operate between 8am and 11pm, Monday to Sunday.
• The contact centre is open from Monday to Friday, between 8am and 4pm.
• The service is currently a kerb to kerb service with no assistance provided to passengers from the drivers when boarding or alighting the vehicle. You must therefore be able to board and alight the vehicle and secure your seat belt without assistance. This is to ensure that social distancing can take place. Please note that we are working to ensure that our normal assisted service resumes as soon as possible once it is safe for passengers and drivers to do so.
• There is currently no access to the tail lift for wheelchairs/mobility aids due to social distancing - any passengers requiring tail lift facilities will be offered a taxi journey. If we do not have an accessible taxi operator then passengers will be advised to book their own taxi and to send the receipt to our address below for reimbursement of the fare paid:
  GMATL
  Floor 20
  53 Portland Street
  M1 3LD
• Social distancing of two metres must be adhered to at all times as appropriate.
• A maximum of two passengers are allowed on the vehicle at any one time (three if two are living at the same address).
• Seat spacing will be reduced to one metre from 3rd of August. This will increase the maximum capacity to 6 passengers and enable some group bookings to resume.
• The use of shopping trolleys is discouraged but if it is essential that you use one arrangements can be made to accommodate them at the rear of the vehicle.
• Drivers wear face masks and gloves at all times.
• Vehicles are cleaned and all seats steam cleaned before the service resumes.
• Vehicles are wiped down after the last passenger on each trip has alighted.
• If you have to use public transport wear a face covering, keep your distance from other passengers and clean your hands frequently.

Fares will be charged as follows on a temporary basis and no tickets will be issued to reduce contact between drivers and passengers. A receptacle will be provided to place fares in to reduce handling cash. Normal fares will be reintroduced from 3rd August. Passengers are requested to have correct fare where possible.

Fares

The fares before 9.30 are temporarily suspended.

The above restrictions have been put in place to ensure that we can enable necessary travel while protecting drivers and customers. We recognise that this is not the service you are used to but we hope to resume normal service as soon as the restrictions are lifted and when it is safe to do so.

Ring & Ride provide accessible, low cost transport to disabled people and older people with walking difficulties. If you qualify, you can book a Ring & Ride accessible minibus to take you, and an accompanying adult, door to door for journeys of up to 6 miles in Greater Manchester.

There are some exceptions where registered users may travel more than 6 miles from their home address as long as the destination is within Greater Manchester.
Trips which may be considered include:

• Travel to the nearest local hospital
• Travel to the nearest town centre or accessible transport facility

Ring & Ride minibuses are suitable for taking wheelchairs, and all drivers have had special accessibility and disability-awareness training.

Do you qualify?

To use Ring & Ride you must:

• have a TfGM travel pass for disabled people
• have a TfGM travel plus pass for disabled people
• have a TfGM travel pass for older people, be 70 or over and have difficulty walking; or
• use TfGM travel vouchers for disabled people

Register for Ring & Ride

You must register before you can book a journey. It's free to register, and you can join in a number of ways:

• Register online
• Phone: 0161 200 6011 or 0845 688 4933
• Email: enquiries@ringandride.info
• Print out a Ring & Ride registration form
• write to:
  GMATL
  Floor 20,
  53 Portland Street
  M1 3LD

Book your journey

Once you're registered, you can book your journey. You can do this from between seven days to an hour before you travel.

Phone us: 0161 200 6011.

Cancellations

If you need to cancel your trip please let us know at the earliest opportunity. This will allow your trip to be given to another person.

If you travel as part of a group booking and you cancel repeatedly we may remove you from the group booking and request you book as an individual passenger instead.

Job vacancies

To find out if we have any driving or customer adviser vacancies please call 0161 244 1193.

Contact Us

To contact us with a query, feedback or complaint please phone us on 0161 200 6011 or 0845 688 4933.

Alternatively you can email at: enquiries@ringandride.info