If the bus cuts continue and you have no transport – what would you do?

Gloucestershire County Council gave community transport organisations in the Forest £157,000 for Dial-a-Ride type services and voluntary car driver schemes. Community transport received £51,000 for services replacing local bus services.

Community transport is for anyone who does not have regular access to other transport. That's most people in the Forest of Dean. You never know when you might need it.

It appears that most of the schemes have medical usage criteria, some also serve people living in social isolation and some service the elderly. 

Some have vehicles that can take wheelchairs but most volunteer drivers do not have the facility.

They all charge a similar mileage that is very, very reasonable. Some will work in the evenings some will not.

Most volunteer drivers are over 55.  Check when you call on whether they can accommodate your needs. I am not too sure they can.

There's the need for flexible community transport but have we got it right yet? Have we got enough volunteers for these excellent schemes to become sustainable?

Well no not yet – if anyone wants to become a volunteer driver call your local organisation. 

These volunteers are worth their weight in gold, many hundreds of people rely on them.  What will happen when they all finally take their driving gloves off?

The  community transport partnerships are – Bream Voluntary Car Service, 01594 560257, a charity manned by volunteers with no funding.  No membership charges, 45p per mile. Covers the Forest area and major hospitals outside.

They mainly deal with medical runs plus some social and shopping trips.  They also take single parents with young children, elderly, disabled, or people without access to transport.

Drivers will collect you and wait with you then bring you home.

Lydcare, 01594 860143.    A charity.  Covers Lydbrook, Ruardean, English Bicknor and surrounding areas. Volunteer drivers will take you to doctors, dentists, hospitals, social lunch clubs and shopping. All age groups. Drivers will wait and bring you home  Dial-a-Ride Newent, a charity. 01531 821227. Membership £10 for three years. 45p per mile. Volunteer drivers will collect you and take you to appointments and wait for you. Also cover social, shopping, dentist and hospitals.

Dial-a-Ride  Lydney, a charity not for profit. 01594 843809. The volunteer driver scheme is membership £5 per annum.

Drivers take elderly, disabled, wheelchair access in their multi-seaters and people of all ages  who don't have their own transport or are unable to use public transport. It covers medical, dentists,  social, shopping, hospitals outside the Forest at 50p per mile.

Dial-a-Ride also runs Forest Community Transport routes 701, 707, 709, 738,784, 35a and 23a. Areas include Hudnalls, St. Briavels. Coleford, Chepstow, Symonds Yat, Upper Lydbrook, Ruar- dean, Cinderford, Newnham and Lydney  There's a scheme called carshare – see http://www.car">www.car sharegloucestershire.com 08700 111199.   It relies on the internet to match you with a driver – I have requested a human on end of a telephone.  Join free – 1, 175 people in the Dean already using carshare.

– Sue Dubois, BetterBuses4ForestofDean.