Tales from Community Transport

Nigel Hodder, MA Neighbour Car, Dorset

About 18 months ago one of our elderly clients rang me rather distraught because her beloved cat “Snuggles” had been diagnosed with cancer of the eyelid and the best veterinary practice to help her was in Havant, West Sussex – 70 miles away. She required transport to take her and the cat to the vet one day and to return with her to collect the cat the following day. One of our drivers, Terry, was happy to undertake both trips resulting in 280 miles of driving over the two days.

Julia Burkin, Manager, Castle Donnington Volunteer Centre

We are celebrating 40 years as a voluntary organisation and most of this has been involved in community transport. We are having a celebration on 6 November and this will recognise our volunteers who drive our fleet of 8 community minibuses and our volunteer car fleet.

Anne Bradley, ‘The Plum Club’

We are 'The Plum Club' and we provide a weekly service for senior citizens in a very rural isolated area. We do a door-to-door pick up, take them to Strabane for shopping then luncheon club for lunch and a game of bingo, then drop them off again at their own door. We help them in with their shopping. We cover about 70 to 75miles. This service is provided totally by volunteers. We also do day trips to various places and depending on funds treat them to a few meals out. Some of these people not have any social contact if it weren't for this service. It gives them independence, comradeship, company, a sense of wellbeing etc. We operate 50 weeks of the year. Our members range from 65 to 95 years old. It is great to see them out and about.

Nigel Caldicott, Manager, Wyre Forest Dial a Ride

Our oldest member reached a significant milestone earlier this year. Mrs Brown joined Wyre Forest Dial-A-Ride some 12 years ago and continues to travel twice a week to do her shopping and to attend the Ladies Bright Hour at Trinity Methodist Church in Kidderminster where, after 80 years of practice, she regularly plays the piano to accompany the singing of a hymn. Still living independently, Mrs Brown depends on the Dial-A-Ride service to go shopping at the local Co-op saying “I couldn’t do without Dial A Ride. Door to door, what more could anyone want?”

Nina Lightfoot, Senior Accessibility Project officer Lincolnshire County Council

Bob is Chairman of this car scheme which operates as a social enterprise with its legal structure of a company limited by guarantee. This scheme is totally run by volunteers and at any one time has in the region of 120+ volunteer drivers plus coordinators providing the service.

The scheme has an office in the Gatehouse at Louth Hospital which the hospital trust let use free of charge as the scheme supports patients and staff to get to appointments and other medical sites as well as providing a transport service to local people and organisations. The Louth schemes team of coordinators answer the phone line is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday, after this time the number diverts to a mobile number for one of the committee to take home on a rota basis for emergency contact in case people need to get home from hospital, or to transport hospital staff members between sites.

Bob is now 75 and tirelessly volunteers in the office sorting drivers’ rosters to take into account the number of hours or days each driver is happy to volunteer and to take holidays, but Bob has to be forced to take a break by his wife. I think Bob only took a long weekend the whole of last year.

John McHarg, Crosshouse Action Now, Community Company Limited

The picture below is the knitting team who made the blankets, vests and hats as seen in the picture and they donated them to the Blythswood Care Group in Glasgow for onward transmission to Romania, where children and adults will receive them as gifts at Christmas time 2015.

Midge, Grimsby Dial a Ride

I have you a letter written by the mother of two Down’s Syndrome girls in support of our nomination for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service as I think it says it all about the difference our volunteers make to peoples' lives.

"I would like to nominate Grimsby & Cleethorpes Dial-a-Ride for the 2015 Queen’s Award for Volunteers. They do a wonderful job looking after the elderly and disabled (my daughters included) who rely on these volunteer drivers to take them from place to place, without which they would have a very limited lifestyle. The passengers depend totally on these wonderful people who turn out rain or shine, wind or snow, to give them some independence to get out into the community. Quite a few passengers use wheelchairs and these lovely folk just 'do it' with a smile on their faces. I know they brighten up my daughters’ lives, they are always laughing and chatting with them.

Life would be so difficult without the care and support provided by these volunteers. I would ask you please to consider these very special people for a very special award".

This very personal letter in support of us went a long way towards us being successful with regard to the award and really touched the drivers.

Paul Brooks, Central Service Administrator, University of Bath Student Union

Although we are a tiny minority in community transport terms, you should not forget the hundreds of students across the country every year who benefit from MiDAS training. Not only does it enhance the student experience for thousands of Club members able to get to matches and events in their Students’ Union minibuses and MPVs, but for the drivers it enables them to increase their driving portfolio and improves their driving standards. With the disproportionate number of young drivers involved in crashes, this can only be good news for that age group.

It is truly frightening how much new drivers forget and how many “bad habits” they pick up even in their first year of driving, and it also shows up the glaring gaps in initial driver training and testing – for example, having given MiDAS training to around 1,000 students, I have yet to meet one who knows what they are actually licensed to drive!

Jenny Bright, Green Community Travel

As I’m sure you can imagine there are hundreds of lovely stories we would love to tell you that have come from CT but we could write a book! (Maybe we should do a CTA heart-warming stories book!)

However we do have one volunteer here with us at Green Community Travel that deserves a special mention. We had a passenger who did not have any family living locally to him, when his spouse was admitted to hospital it was very difficult for him to visit her. I know we all think about getting older but I can’t imagine how difficult it must be after spending every day with someone for 50+ years then having to find ways to see them or not be sure if you can see your spouse on that day! The gentleman was getting anxious as Christmas was approaching as it would have been the only Christmas they had spent apart, I mentioned to our volunteer Stuart that it must be terrible not to see your spouse on Christmas Day, Stuart said well I can take him! I do not mind taking him at all, what time would be best for him?

Our volunteer Stuart on Christmas morning took this gentleman to visit his wife for a couple of hours. I know that medical appointments are so important but not all hospital visits are for an appointment, and I think you’ll agree how valuable this visit was.

People’s generosity never ceases to amaze me in this line of work, but I have to say Hats Off to Stuart for always going the extra mile and for offering to make a couple’s Christmas a happier one than it may have been.

Claudia Fleischmann, CVSBEH Community Car Scheme

One of our clients of the CVS for Broxbourne and East Herts Community Car Scheme wrote a very nice letter to the Herts and Essex Observer at the beginning of this year.