A MUCH-NEEDED bus service connecting the isolated and elderly to the rest of Oxford has received a £40,000 boost in its time of need.

The community transport service run by social enterprise Aspire received the one-off grant from Oxford City Council to keep running over the course of 2017.

Hundreds of older people across the city rely on the Monday to Friday bus to maintain their independence through shopping trips and social events.

Paul Roberts, chief operating officer at Aspire, said: “Aspire Oxford is delighted to be able to continue this vital service thanks to the grant.

"Our bus does an incredible job reducing isolation and loneliness. As 92 per cent of our passengers are living alone, we know how important this service is to them."

"The service also relieves pressure on health and social care services and reassures family members that their elderly relatives are able to enjoy independent lives."

Aspire started running the route in April 2015 with a £74,000 lump sum from Oxfordshire County Council after it stopped funding the old Dial-a-Ride service.

For an annual membership fee of £5 people can catch the door-to-door service to shopping centres, supermarkets and lunch clubs around Oxford from 9am to 5pm.

Typical destinations include Templars Square Shopping Centre in Cowley and the Sainsbury's in Heyford Hill.

Driver Tony Tinkham has ferried hundreds of people around the city on the Aspire minibus for the past two years and is still the only regular driver.

He said: "It has been absolutely wonderful. The customers are just so much fun. They have become more like friends over that time; I enjoy it so much I don't call it work."

Between its launch in April 2015 and December that year the Aspire service had more than 3,500 passengers, with about 150 using the bus at any given time.

The funding uses up the last of Oxford City Council's £50,000 community transport reserve, which was set up after cuts to bus subsidies in the city.

The other £10,000 has been given to Cutteslowe Community Association to run its own 'Cutteslowe Comet' bus, helping older people with food shopping and hospital trips.

Alex Hollingsworth, the council's executive board member for planning and regulatory services, said: "This one-off grant will enable Aspire to run this vital community link while they identify new funding streams. It’s about giving space for Aspire to develop a sustainable model for the future."