VULNERABLE people using the lifeline Dial-a-Ride service will start paying for their journeys next month.

Lancashire County Council said it had no choice but to charge residents and to scrap free bus passes because of a shortfall in Government funding.

An adult single fare will now start at £2 for a journey of up to two miles, rising to £5 for journeys between nine and 18 miles, and a maximum fare of £10 for the small number of journeys over 18 miles.

Operators have been asked to provide a ‘core service’ across the county between 9.30am and 2.30pm, concentrating resources when most needed for the 5,000 service users.

County Councillor Tim Ashton, executive member for highways and transport, said the council had been forced to make ‘tough decisions’ with ‘a heavy heart’.

He said: “We inherited this, which we think was a bit of a mess.

“We think we’ve come up with a scheme that our customers can afford. If we had not we would have had to make decisions elsewhere that might not have been as palatable.”

Before April 2011, Dial-a-Ride operators received £1million per year from the county council, plus around £700,000 per year from district councils to fund free travel.

But in April funding for concessionary transport provided by the Government was transferred from local authorities to the county council, leaving the council around £5.7million short.

County hall bosses said they had set up a £100,000 fund, available to operators for the six months from July, to help them deal with a projected drop in passengers in the short term, while they try to attract new customers and reduce costs.

Tony Moreton, associate director of sustainable transport, said the council had employed a transport specialist to review the service and design the new model.

It surveyed 1,000 passengers, receiving 750 responses about issues like how much they would be willing to pay.

Most of the Dial-a-Ride schemes in Lancashire are run by the county council’s own operator, Travelcare.

The Ribble Valley and Chorley’s and two community care schemes are run by charitable organisations.

Car journeys, which are offered by voluntary drivers, will now charge 40 pence per mile.