EASIER and cheaper travel for disabled and blind people is set to keep on running.

Town hall bosses will continue to operate a local version of the Greater Manchester travel voucher scheme to help residents get about by taxi.

The voucher scheme was set up across the county in 1995 for people who were registered blind or physically unable to use buses.

They can buy five £5 books a year, each containing £15 worth of vouchers to pay for taxis (including private hire) and services such as Ring and Ride. However, some independent taxi drivers in Bury did not join the scheme because of difficulties in being reimbursed.

To try to get around that difficulty, a pilot project was launched in Bury earlier this year with the council administering the voucher scheme.

Councillor Mike Connolly, licensing chairman, said: "While most of the private hire firms were registered with the scheme, many of the independent hackney carriage owners were not.

"In fact, of the 84 hackney vehicles licensed with us, only 26 were submitting vouchers for reimbursement. The remainder did not take the vouchers when offered them by disabled or blind passengers and consequently that was causing travel difficulties for these individuals.

"The drivers felt that the paperwork involved in order to redeem the vouchers was too time consuming and the period before they obtained reimbursement too long."

Bury received permission from the scheme operators, the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, to go local and nearly £1,000 in vouchers have been redeemed, a significant increase on the past.

Coun Connolly added: "Obviously the move has encouraged local independent hackney carriage owners to accept them as a valid form of payment which, in turn, has improved travel options for disabled and blind people."