THE charity Age Concern is trying to ensure the issue of transport, and the granting of concessionary bus fares, stays high on the agenda in North Yorkshire.

Paul Fisher, from the charity's Northallerton office, is working closely with the Hambleton Over Fifties Forum on getting the views and concerns of older people.

In particular, he is interested in hearing about people's experiences of using the local transport information help-line.

The line, 0870 6082608, has been designed to help people get the information they need about local transport services.

Age Concern wants to hear from users about its effectiveness in such areas as response time, quality of information and customer service.

It wants to hear from people before the end of September, and response slips are available from Age Concern, at 128 High Street, Northallerton, DL7 8PQ.

The Chief Officer of Age Concern North Yorkshire, Alex Bird, said: "Being able to get concessionary bus fares will encourage more pensioners to use local public transport, and enable people to do things we often take for granted, such as shopping and meeting family."