A new community bus is hitting the road in Woking
Woking Borough Council has worked with local voluntary groups to launch a new community transport initiative, designed to tackle social isolation and make it easier for residents - particularly older people - to stay connected, active and independent.
The vehicle, donated by Woking Community Transport, will be managed and coordinated by local charity Silver Friends.
The North West Surrey Alliance health partnership has contributed £4,500 towards initial set-up and operating costs, with the council, Woking Community Transport and the Woking Healthy Communities Partnership Board all involved in getting the scheme off the ground.
‘Reliable transport is often the missing link’
Silver Friends founder Sandra Smook said reliable, affordable transport is one of the biggest barriers facing many older residents and the charities that support them.
“Reliable transport is often the missing link for many local charities, particularly for older residents who may struggle to get out and about,” she said.
The new community bus is intended to plug that gap - helping people reach social activities, appointments and day trips that would otherwise be out of reach.
Starting with existing members - but open to much more
Speaking about how the service will be used, Hamish McDonald from Silver Friends said the charity would begin by asking its current members what would make the biggest difference to them.
“In the first instance, Silver Friends obviously have a customer base of their own. And I think that the obvious kind of port of call, if you like, will be to talk to the existing client base to see whether there are additional events they'd like to get to or day trips they'd like to explore,” he explained.
“But actually, it's going to be much wider than that. So I say once the communication goes out to let people know how to access it, we will be making the vehicle available for trips to the supermarket, trips to maybe to the sports centre to do some exercise, trips to other clubs that are operating regularly within the area.”
Looking ahead to spring, summer - and beyond
Silver Friends says the ambition is for the bus to become a shared resource for the wider community, not just its own users.
Hamish added: “We've already spoken to groups today about, you know, particularly as we start moving into the spring and summer people start talking about perhaps getting out and about to wider reaches. So we've been looking at the availability of the vehicle to other organisations who can, you know, take it on for the day and do whatever trips they want."
“So they might want to go into the seaside or go out into the countryside, maybe go to Wisley Gardens, which is local, is always a favourite."
“Anything's doable, really. I think, you know, once we start talking to the organisations, they can come with ideas about how they best want to use it.”
A community resource to tackle isolation
By offering door-to-door support and shared outings, the new bus is intended to:
Help residents who don’t drive or can’t use public transport easily
Support older and more isolated people to stay social and active
Give local charities and community groups a flexible transport option for their activities
Details on how to book and use the new community bus will be shared by Silver Friends and Woking Borough Council as the scheme rolls out.