Oxfordshire County Council has awarded grant funding to a number of volunteer-led organisations to support local community transport projects
Nine organisations are to share funding of £106,530 to help them continue to provide vital community transport in Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire County Council is awarding the grants, ranging from £2,730 to £21,000, to fund drivers, operating costs, recruiting and training volunteers and promotion.
Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, explained: “Oxfordshire’s community transport sector is a lifeline to many people. The grants will make a big difference to all nine organisations and help them to continue the fantastic work they are doing.”
The recipients, who will receive their grants over two years to support continuation of their schemes are: the Volunteer Driver Service, covering north Oxfordshire; OurBus Bartons; Vale Community Impact; Cholsey Volunteers; West Oxfordshire’s Volunteer Link-Up; Didcot Volunteer Drivers; Yarnton Care Committee; Wallingford Volunteer Drivers; and Weston-on-the-Green Parish Council.
OurBus Bartons, which serves the Bartons and its surrounding areas, received £20,000 to help promote its services, including its new electric vehicles, which were paid for by the National Lottery Community Fund. Richard Brown, Chair of Trustees at OurBus Bartons, said: “We are delighted to receive this grant as it will allow us to maximise the way in which we will use our new electric buses as they settle into service. We are one of the first community transport operators to use electric buses on timetabled services. We won a national UK Bus Award for our innovative approach working with our community.
“These buses are supporting our services from Middle Barton to surrounding towns, our commuter services to Heyford Station and to Steeple Aston, to connect to the Stagecoach services to Oxford and Banbury. The difference in the quality of the ride and the level of sound is appreciated by all our passengers.”
