Community Transport
If you are not able to drive yourself or if public transport is difficult for you to use or not available, you can use our Community Transport Service.
Over 1,000 Members used our service for more than 13,000 journeys last year.
Our Community Transport Service covers the North Cotswolds and Cirencester.
We can take you anywhere you want to go, for medical or social appointments - to see family and friends, to the hairdresser, the shops, the doctor or the hospital.
Our volunteer drivers
We have over 70 volunteer drivers using their own cars, who pride themselves on going the extra mile, helping members to and from their home and waiting for the return journey.
Many of our volunteers drive clients on a regular basis, providing a reassuring familiar face.
When using our volunteer cars, you will need to be a Member. The fee is £18 per year (£1.50 a month). This payment includes up to 20 bookings within the year. To cover all bookings after 20 journeys, we will ask for a single further payment of £6 to contribute towards the additional administration and we will advise you if you reach this point. .
Please call our Transport Bookings Desk on 01608 651115 for further details.
For each journey, the service costs a maximum of 50p per mile and you will pay your driver directly. When you book your journey you will be told how much it will cost.
2 hours of driver waiting time is included in the cost of your booking. If you need more time, let us know when you book and we will arrange that for you - an extra charge will apply.
Our Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle
With the help of a generous grant from the Weston Anniversary Fund, Cotswold Friends is pleased to be able to provide a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle for the Community Transport Service in the North Cotswolds.
The Volkswagen Caddy has been specially adapted to carry a person whilst seated in a wheelchair, meaning that transfer from wheelchair to car and back again is no longer needed. A wheelchair can be provided if required.
The vehicle can carry three additional passengers and also features an adapted front passenger seat which swivels, allowing people with limited mobility to get in and out more easily.
We have drivers operating the service in the North Cotswolds who are fully trained members of staff. Watch our short film to find out more.
So there is no reason to miss out. Call us today and book your next outing in the North Cotswolds.
Our Bookings Desk is open Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 3.30pm.
Telephone 01608 651115 or email [email protected].
You can also call in to chat to us at the Community Transport Service Bookings Office at the Moreton Area Centre, High Street, Moreton, GL56 0AZ.
Here are just a few examples of how the Community Transport Service is used:
Joyce uses the service to visit the hospital and says, “It’s like seeing friends – they take all the worry from you and as you get older you do worry about things you didn’t worry about before.”
Kenneth is 95 and travels both locally and to Cheltenham Hospital with Cotswold Friends. He commented “At my age I don’t drive and without that service I couldn’t get to my appointments. The service is excellent and I find the drivers good company.”
Following a stroke, Betty was no longer able to drive. “If I hadn’t got this transport I wouldn’t get out of the house because I can’t walk. I would recommend it to anyone, well – it would give them what it gives me – freedom.”
Trish is 76 and has been using the transport service for five years and really values the service. When asked if she would recommend the service she said “Yes – definitely – 100%. It’s a lifesaver for me for all sorts of reasons. I have my friends but I don’t need to call on them too often if I’m supported by Community Transport.”
Links to other useful local transport provision
Community Connexions Shoppers in North Cotswolds and Cirencester area