Local people living in the Kennet area will now have more chances than ever to go by bus thanks to the start of a new community bus service in the Collingbournes area and Kennet District Council’s replacement of the Ramsbury Flyer community minibus.

Launched at the beginning of April, the new Avon and Bourne Valley Community Bus service is part of the Wiltshire County Council-managed Connect 2 Wiltshire network.

The service is run by local Community Transport group Community Transport South Wiltshire having being provided with support from the Community Transport team at Community First.

The new low floor bus service will serve Everleigh, Collingbourne Kingston, Collingbourne Ducis, Aughton, Burbage, Brunton, Upper Chute, Chute Standon, Chute Cadley, Lower Chute, Ludgershall, Faberstown, Figheldean, Ablington, Milston, Bulford, Fittleton and East Chisenbury and link these to Pewsey, Amesbury and Tidworth, (including the new Tesco store in Tidworth.) The service is available from Monday to Friday between 9am and 2.30pm.

Free Bus Pass holders travelling on the new community bus service are also entitled to half fare rate and there are 30% discounts available for regular travellers.

The Community Transport team at Community First worked in partnership with Wiltshire County Council to develop and promote the service opportunity to local Community Minibus groups.

The new service has broadened the range of people in the community that Community Transport South Wiltshire assist and it has also helped to support the provision of the other community transport services they offer such as community car scheme services and shopper bus trips.

Kennet District Council’s decision to bring forward the replacement of the Ramsbury Flyer has also been a boon to the Community Minibus group and to local passengers.

The Council decided to buy the bus for the Ramsbury group in advance of the establishment of new unitary council for Wiltshire next April.

Kennet District Council owns four community minibuses – the Ramsbury Flyer, the Seend Shuttle, Urchfont Community Bus and the Combine Bus which serves the villages of Chirton, Marden and Patney. It usually purchases buses every five years and rents to them to the community bus committees for £1 a year.

Frank Marshall, interim assistant to the chief executive at Kennet said: “The bus committees also suggested we transfer ownership of the buses to them so they can get a trade-in price for the buses which will give them part funding towards a replacement when their new buses reach the end of their useful working lives.”

The Combine Bus will be replaced this year. The Seend Shuttle was bought two years ago while the Urchfont Community Bus is just over a year old.

Kennet is also obtaining a bus on a five-year lease for East Kennet District Community Transport, which provides a valuable service mainly for elderly and disabled people without access to transport in the East Kennet area.

For more information, please contact:
Liam Tatton-Bennett, Community Transport Manager on (01380) 722475

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FOR SALE

- 1 used Ratcliff minibus wheelchair tail-lift
- Previously fitted to a Peugeot Boxer minibus (owned by Tisbus)
- In working order; has been regularly serviced and inspected
- Was £3,000 new

Available to a good home for a very reasonable price.

Offers to:

Gerry Quirke
Transport Manager
Tisbus

Tel: (01747) 871306
e-mail: smq@waitrose.com

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Wiltshire and Swindon Community Transport News

The latest edition of Wiltshire & Swindon Community Transport News is available to download HERE.

Compiled by the Community First Community Transport Team the latest newsletter includes:

***News about a Devizes travel information station ***

***A report from the Wiltshire and Swindon Community Transport Conference 2007***

***Details about FREE CT roadshow being run by the Community Transport Association***

***Information about the Community Transport Small Grants Fund***

If you would like a particular article or advertisement featured in the next edition please contact Liam Tatton-Bennett on (01380) 722475 ext 243.

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Amesbury to Solstice Park
Shuttle and Community Bus

A shuttle bus service between Amesbury town centre and Solstice Park - the ‘Solstice Shuttle’ run by local Community Transport Group COMTRANS South Wiltshire provides a free, dedicated and efficient service for workers at Solstice Park during the morning and evening commute.

The shuttle runs in conjunction with Wilts and Dorset and Stagecoach services with arrivals and departures from Amesbury Bus Station (Stand E) with the kind permission of Wilts and Dorset.

Anyone wishing to enquire about the community bus should contact COMTRANS SW on: 01722 410123 or download a leaflet here.

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SOLVE Community Transport Small Grants Fund

The SOLVE Community Transport Small Grants Fund is open for applications for Community Transport projects.

Working under the new Delivering Accessibility and Rural Transport Partnership (DART) the Community Transport Taskforce has been instrumental in establishing this fund.

If you have a project up to £1,000 in value which meets the broad objectives below, you would be welcome to apply to the fund.

Projects that either:
- Improve the service, facilities, equipment or running of existing community transport schemes
or
- Develop new local community transport schemes that would make it easier for people to access and reach the services and facilities they need and vice versa
are invited to apply.

Examples of projects which may be considered will be provided when you request an application pack for the fund. Please be aware that the fund will only provide for 75% of your project costs - match funding from own funds, other grants or ‘in-kind’ support constitute eligible match funding contributions.

For more information or an application pack contact: Alison Crawford Tel. no. (01380) 722475 email: acrawford@communityfirst.org.uk.

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Let us take the strain out of your BSOG claim

For the uninitiated, the Bus Services Operator’s Grant (or BSOG) is a rebate of most of the excise duty paid on fuel used by bus operators across the country.

If you operate a minibus under a Section 19 or a Section 22 Permit, you are eligible to claim BSOG if you carry certain categories of people, including anyone over 60, disabled people and socially isolated people.

Those that already claim BSOG will know that doing so is a relatively time consuming process. To free up more time for you to run your services, Community First can arrange for you to be registered to claim B.S.O.G. if you aren’t claiming the grant already. In addition they can offer the following services to you for a small fee:

Setting up a records system for you
Carrying out your claims for you
Checking your claim before you send it off to the Department for Transport
Helping you claim retrospectively back until May 1st 2002

We have already assisted three community minibus groups claim back BSOG and the estimated combined value of their claims is £15,000.

What’s more, we do not make a charge for your services until you have received all of your BSOG back from the Department for Transport.

Contact Liam Tatton-Bennett on 01380 722475 for further information.

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Chippenham Shopmobility
Based at Thornton’s in the
Borough Parade Shopping Centre, Chippenham.

Free loan of 3 or 4-wheeled electrically powered scooters to people with limited mobility.
Scooters can be used to go shopping anywhere in Chippenham town centre.

To book, please call (01249) 463100. To register to use the service you will need to take along proof of your address to Thornton’s.