People who are elderly and infirm or disabled often need organised transport to help them to get around. In Bradford, many of them have relied on Bradford Community Transport to take them to day centres, hospitals and schools or to run members of community groups to which they belong on days out to places like Blackpool and Scarborough.

Now the company has gone into administration following Bradford Council's decision not to come up with the £200,000 it said it needed to stay in business, the people who used it are bound to feel left in the lurch.

Social services teams have stepped in to provide transport locally for elderly and disabled groups left stranded but admit that there will be no buses available for trips. Councillor Martin Smith, the Council's executive member for social care, suggests that groups get quotes from private firms. But a representative of one of them told the Telegraph & Argus that finding alternatives will be difficult because BCT, being not-for-profit, was very competitive and they cannot afford the private alternatives.

It will be unfortunate if the quality of life of the people who have depended on these buses for their treats is reduced because they aren't able to get to the seaside.

Hopefully, social services will be able to maintain the local transportation role and ensure that people are still taken to schools, day centres and hospitals. But it will be a shame if there is no longer an affordable service to enable them to enjoy a day out. Perhaps Bradford Council could now look into other ways of helping these community groups out of their difficulties.