Uttlesford Community Transport

IF you’re elderly or disabled, and are finding it difficult to get out and about, a local charity is on hand to help with all your transport needs.

Uttlesford Community Travel (UCT), whose head office is in Great Dunmow, supplies minibuses and cars to take residents of Uttlesford wherever they want to go, including to medical appointments.

A fleet of six specially-adapted minibuses, all of which are wheelchair accessible, are used for its Book-A-Ride service, transporting passengers to just about anywhere they want to go – such as shopping, to the hairdressers, to visit friends, or perhaps to garden centres. All drivers are fully trained and checked through the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Passengers pay a £10 annual joining fee and then for their journeys it costs £3.40 for the first two miles travelled and £1.02 for all subsequent miles.

Book-A-Ride also provides an opportunity for groups – such as WI’s, schools and all sorts of other clubs – to join to provide transport for outings such as trips to the coast, places of interest, theatre trips, garden centres, lunches and afternoon teas, school trips and even regular group meetings.

The annual joining fee for a group is £20 and the price for journeys is then worked out on an individual basis per group,

UCT also provides a Hospital Car Service, which helps people who have difficulty in getting to medical appointments by finding a driver who lives nearby, and who uses their own car, to take them. The drivers are all volunteers, so the passengers have to pay only the HMRC mileage rate of 45p per mile to get them there.

For more information on UCT, the services it provides and how to join, ring the charity on 01371 875787 or email info@uttlesfordcommunitytravel.org.