Manchester City Council has announced that its ‘JabCab’ service is returning this winter to provide free taxi rides for residents who need to get to and from their COVID vaccination appointments.
You may remember that earlier this year, a similar scheme was set up that helped hundreds of people travel to vaccination centres in Moss Side and Bellevue, and now it’s back to aid with the continued roll-out of the booster jab programme before the arrival of Christmas.
All Mancunians are entitled to a free taxi ride to get to the range of vaccination centres across Manchester.
Manchester City Council says that the service has been expanded due to the need to support people who cannot walk to vaccination sites, who cannot drive, or who cannot get there via public transport either.
Local Manchester-based taxi firm, Street Cars, will be offering the free service, with residents only needing to call 0161 228 7878 to book a car.
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The following vaccination sites are eligable:
The Grange Community Resource Centre
Irish World Heritage Centre
Jain Community Centre
Newton Heath Health Centre
Plant Hill Clinic
Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre
The Vallance Centre
People should book a vaccination or booster appointment in advance, or check ahead and choose a vaccination centre which is taking walk ups.
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Use the reference term ‘ManchesterJabCab’ with taxi firm Street Cars when ordering.
Street Cars will need your address, the vaccine centre you will be attending, and the number of passengers who will be travelling.
Local Manchester-based taxi firm, Street Cars, will be offering the free service / Credit: Facebook (Street Cars)
Speaking about the importance of the ManchesterJabCab initiative, David Regan – Manchester’s Director of Public Health – said: “Providing fair and easy access to the Covid jab for people in Manchester has been one of the cornerstones of the vaccination programme.
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“This winter we are doing everything we can to get people vaccinated and the ManchesterJabCab is just one tool at our disposal to protect as many people as we can.
“The first week of the expanded booster programme was a huge success, with more than 44,000 booster jabs given in the space of the week [but] the challenge now will be to sustain that and keep people coming in during the Christmas run up.
“We also want to encourage people to get their first dose as it’s never too late to get vaccinated.
“Vaccinations remain the best line of defence against serious illness if you develop Covid and I would ask anyone who’s not yet booked in to take up this opportunity and protect themselves and their loved ones this Christmas.”
Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.
Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd December 2021 
