Mayor confirms £2 bus fare for the Liverpool City Region

BUS passengers will be able to travel across the Liverpool City Region for no more than £2 has been announced by Mayor Steve Rotheram. The new single adult fare, which is part of the Mayor's wider plans to revolutionise the public transport system, has been ratified by the Combined Authority at its meeting on 10 June 2022. This means that some passengers would see a saving of up to 13% in the cost of a single journey regardless of which service they use, taking away the hassle and confusion of the Region's complex ticketing system.

Young people will also continue to benefit from all day unlimited travel for just £2.20 by capping MyTicket until 2025.

Plans are also in the works to simplify the Region's wider ticketing system under a:- 'tap and go system' that would allow for greater freedom and flexibility with passengers guaranteed to always pay the cheapest fare.

Earlier this year the Liverpool City Region took an important step towards the major reform of its buses after local leaders voted to confirm franchising as the preferred model for running the network; a landmark move that would reverse the industry's deregulation in the mid-1980's.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "Today marks another massive step on our journey to revolutionise our Region's buses. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on buses to get about every day, yet too often they tell me that they are still too expensive, too unreliable and too confusing; I want to put that right. We've listened to people's concerns and have responded with direct action that will help ease the financial burden; especially during the cost of living crisis; by making it cheaper to travel on our bus network. This is just a down payment on my wider ambitions, though. I'm fighting to win London style funding that will allow us to build a public transport network that is better connected, faster, and cleaner. If it's good enough for the capital, then it's the least that we should expect."

The new fare is subject to agreement with the bus operators and for an initial 3 year period.

Subject to confirmation, the £12m Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) allocation will be used to fund these measures which are designed to encourage more people to use the bus by helping them travel further for less as well as helping the environment.

However, it is only the start as more funding is needed to realise the ambition set out in the BSIP and deliver the bus services that local people have asked for including additional evening and weekend services as well as more hydrogen buses.

Aligned to the Region's Vision for Bus, this latest round of investment is a key part of Mayor Rotheram's pledge to reform the Region's transport by building a London style system that will make travelling around quicker, cheaper, greener and more reliable.
 

More than 4,000 new blood donors are needed in Liverpool to meet demand

NHS Blood and Transplant are urging people in Liverpool to give blood as new targets reveal 4,054 new donors are needed in the Region to save lives over the next year.

Nationally 1 million more blood donors are needed over the next 5 years to ensure patients receive the right type of blood to save and improve their lives, with a particular need for Black African, Black Caribbean and younger donors.

The 5 year Blood Service Strategy, published today at the start of National Blood Week, sets ambitious plans to recruit up to a million new donors and double the number of regular donors with the rarest blood types. This will ensure better matched blood types for patients in the future and reduce health inequalities.

Most people know the main blood types - O positive (35% of the population), O negative (13%), A positive (30%), A negative (8%), B positive (8%), B negative (2%), and AB positive (2%). But the public is less familiar with the many sub types that can provide an even better match to improve their treatment.

There is a particular urgency for more donors of Black African and Black Caribbean ethnicity to treat people with sickle cell. Sickle cell is the fastest growing genetic blood disorder in the UK and mostly affects people of Black heritage. It requires regular transfusions; most often with the specific blood sub type Ro. Most patients are children, and demand for Ro blood is projected to double from 2016/17; 2025/26. 55% of Black blood donors have the Ro subtype compared to 2.4% of donors from other ethniCities.

Stephen Cornes, Director of Blood Supply at NHS Blood and Transplant said:- "Currently we can only meet around ½. of the demand for Ro blood through our existing donor base and demand for this rare blood type is rising. This means many sickle cell patients often receive less well-matched blood which, while clinically suitable, can pose a longer term risk to patients who receive regular transfusions. We urgently need new Black African and Black Caribbean donors to come forward and donate blood. In addition to the rarest blood types, we also need 1 million new donors over the next 5 years of all blood types. As the NHS treats more patients, we need to grow the total number of donors too. We carefully manage stocks to ensure we do not waste any precious blood. If you cannot get an appointment immediately it is because we have enough of your blood type right now. Please book for a later date or respond when we contact you."

Blood donation generally takes up to an hour and you will be doing something amazing. Once donated, blood is taken to NHSBT laboratories where it is divided into:-

► Platelets = Platelets help to stop bleeding and can be donated directly. Donors with A negative, A positive or AB negative blood are mostly needed. 69% treat people with cancer, 17% helps people after surgery, 8% treat diseases, and 6% help adults and babies in intensive care.

► Red cells = 66% are used to treat a vast range of conditions including sickle cell, anaemia, cancer and blood other disorders. 33% is used in surgery and emergencies including childbirth.

► Plasma = 17,000 people are treated with medicine made from plasma. Plasma can be used to stop blood loss in trauma patients and is also made into a medicine for people with weak immune systems. People can also donate plasma directly.

NHSBT carefully manages blood stocks to ensure the system is as efficient as possible. Red blood cells have a shelf life of 35 days, although some of the ultra rare types are stored in NHSBT's frozen blood bank in Liverpool.

Appointments to donate blood are arranged based on a donors' blood type to meet future patient needs. Knowing our type is an essential part of being a next generation donor.

A mass public campaign is being held this National Blood Week and throughout June to identify people with most needed blood types. Young people and those of Black African or Black Caribbean heritage are being urged by the NHS to find out their blood type, by making their 1st donation at 1 of the many events being held at Blood Donor Centres in England.

NHS Blood and Transplant Advocate and star of Channel 4's A Place in The Sun Scarlette Douglas knows how important blood is after her brother received 48 units of blood over more than 6 hours. He suffered a life threatening stab wound in his chest when he disturbed a burglar.

Scarlette, who has Ro blood herself, said:- "Blood donors saved my brother's life, but blood will only be there in the future if young people of every heritage sign up as the next generation of donors. Finding matching blood for people of black heritage is particularly hard, so more black donors are urgently needed. Please make an appointment or get along to a blood type testing event; your blood will be a match for someone who needs it, and you will save lives."

Jim Parry, 39, a Doctor from Formby, Liverpool, has been donating blood for over 20 years after signing up to give blood at University in Leeds.

As a Doctor and an O Negative donor Jim has always been aware of the importance of giving blood and saw many of the benefits of blood donations while working in Hospitals and emergency departments.

Jim said:- "For the last 5 years I have worked at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and see on a daily basis the immediate value of receiving blood. Blood donations are crucial for patients with blood cancers, but they are also a huge help to many other cancer patients to improve their quality of life and support them through their cancer treatments. I have donated blood 45 times now and have been fine. The staff are good and everything is always done efficiently plus I always enjoy the Chocolate biscuit afterwards!"

Dr Bola Owolabi, Director of Health Inequalities, at NHS England, said:- "A shortage of blood donation from people of a Black heritage often means that some patients don't receive the best blood-type match and are therefore at risk of serious complications. Tackling healthcare inequalities is 1 of the NHS' top priorities and increasing the number of Black African and Black Caribbean blood donors is crucial in improving outcomes for sickle cell patients especially. I would urge anyone who is able to give blood to come forward as soon as possible; you are vital in saving the lives of your neighbours, friends and communities who are battling this disease."

Attend a What's Your Blood Type event or register today and book an appointment by visiting:- Blood.Co.UK, downloading the GiveBloodNHS app or by calling:- 03001232323. Or if you are an existing donor and have not donated in a while, please book your next appointment, or keep checking back for future appointments.

Disabled bay problems in Southport

WE have been alerted to a major problem that is not just in Southport, but in many other areas as well. On Lord Street, in Southport, just by the Southport War Memorial, is a bus stop, followed by a disabled parking bay. This is a fantastic location for it, but like so many, this comes with a major issue. Many disabled people have huge problems using it, if they are in wheelchairs. The problem is that this area has a raised kerb that prevents from road to pavement for many wheelchair users. The problem is made worse by the location of the bay, that forces many uses of wheelchair accessible vehicles, who use the bay, to have to go down the road, into on coming traffic, often next to busses parked at the bus stop. Dropped or lowered kerbs are essential aid for many wheelchair users, yet attention seems to be focused on dropped kerbs or raised road crossing to help wheelchair, but not when it comes to parking. Have you had problems? Please do let us know and also let us know any locations that could be an issue for both wheelchair users and push chairs users that have been overlooked. Please send your comments to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com, as we are extremely interested to know more about this transportation issue and any others like it!