‘Lifeline’ community transport initiative sees ‘more need at this time of year’ across Northants

A Northamptonshire community transport initiative, described as a “lifeline” in helping people get from A to B, sees “more need at this time of year”.

Northampton Community Transport, hosted by Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire, runs a volunteer car scheme and a door-to-door service.

Their red minibuses provide essential transport for individuals who cannot access public transport, which may be as a result of impaired mobility or disability.

It has been described as “a lifeline for many, enabling housebound residents to enjoy a level of independence, choice and freedom that would otherwise be beyond them”.

The scheme has more than 1,000 members and more than 450 journeys are made each week, which also includes accommodating wheelchair and scooter users.

The initiative offers weekly trips to most major supermarkets, transport to medical appointments and daycare, and visits to family and friends.

The volunteers also arrange transport to lunch clubs and provide outings to garden centres and other leisure venues.

Becky Thornton, the development manager at Voluntary Impact, shared that both the car scheme and door-to-door service have been running for more than 20 years – but it was in 2019 that Northampton Community Transport merged with Voluntary Impact.

“We have a lot of people say it is a lifeline,” said Becky. “It may be the only way to get out and about. They have peace of mind, security and safety.”

The combination of picking people up from their doors, having support from the driver and taking passengers to the closest point to their destination makes it “practical”, says Becky.

When asked how the service has been received by the community, the development manager added: “It’s been very well-received. People find it valuable and give us good feedback.”

This positive feedback also extends to members’ families who live some distance away and are unable to help – praising that it is nice to know their relatives are being supported.

Northampton Community Transport does important work but as all grants are “limited and ever-decreasing”, it sadly only contributes a proportion of what they need to build on the service and reach more people.

They “rely on donations from the public to cover the shortfall and encourage their much-needed services to continue, to support the vulnerable in communities across Northampton”.

Becky says it is important they continue to run at its current level, otherwise they risk having to reduce the number of trips or increase membership prices – which they “really don’t want to do”.

As a result, a fundraising appeal has been launched and there is a real push this December as there is “more need at this time of year”.

“People’s health is often worse in the winter,” said Becky. “It’s more difficult for people to get out and about on their own. There are more medical appointments and an increase in need.”

Looking to 2024, Northampton Community Transport would like to invest in some new and more reliable minibuses and expand the number of trips.

They would also like to recruit some new voluntary drivers – as they now have a wheelchair-accessible vehicle they can offer to drivers who do not want to use their own car or do not have one.

For more information and to make a donation to support Northampton Community Transport, visit Voluntary Impact’s website here.