The charges for passengers using the car scheme since its inception were set to cover the costs of the voluntary drivers expenses. We pay our voluntary drivers the rates set down by H M Treasury 45p per mile without a passenger and 50p per mile with a passenger. As we only charged the passenger for the miles when whey were in the car, we set the rate at 70p per mile which was simple for our drivers to calculate and over a year, covered the total mileage expenses we paid to our drivers. This charge structure has remained the same for many years despite rising costs.

The administrative costs in arranging the trips including  staff and office costs have always had to be met by fundraising.

As fundraising is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive, the Trustees have decided to introduce a booking fee of £3.60 per journey towards our administrative costs, in addition to the expenses we pay to the drivers.

This booking fee will reduce the amount that we have to fundraise to maintain the volunteer car service, placing it on a more secure financial footing into the future.

The amount passengers pay will now reflect the distance that the driver has to travel to collect passengers and will result in varying charges for the same trip if undertaken by different drivers.

We hope our passengers will appreciate that this change has been made to secure the scheme into the future.

We are thrilled to announce some incredibly exciting news that will undoubtedly uplift the spirits of our entire community! Thanks to the generous support from the National Lottery Awards for All, our beloved Community Transport charity has received a significant funding boost that couldn’t have come at a more crucial time.
In recent months, we’ve witnessed rising costs across all aspects of our operations, which naturally posed significant challenges to our charity. However, with the timely intervention of this funding, we’re now equipped to navigate these hurdles with renewed vigour and determination.
The heartwarming news doesn’t stop there! This funding injection will allow us to sustain the invaluable work of our dedicated coordinator, Lauren, who is nothing short of amazing. It’s hard to summarise her work because she does so much. Whilst she effortlessly manages the office and the booking system, she also provides pastoral support to passengers and their families.
From orchestrating weekly shopping trips and monthly social excursions, to facilitating our volunteer car scheme, our coordinator is the driving force behind the seamless functioning of our office. Her commitment to ensuring door-to-door transport services for anyone in the South Hams region is truly exemplary. “We like to think of ourselves as a family”, she says, talking about the staff, volunteers and passengers.
Upon hearing the news, our Treasurer echoed the sentiments of the team, expressing, “This is fantastic news and has arrived just at the right time, as we were really starting to get a bit worried about meeting our staff costs for the coming year.” Indeed, this funding not only alleviates our immediate concerns but also fuels our aspirations for the future.
We extend our deepest gratitude to the National Lottery Awards for All for their support and belief in our mission. Moreover, we are immensely grateful to our volunteers (Trustees, drivers and office staff) who, collectively, give over 2,000 hours a year to ensure the smooth running of the charity.
As we embark on this new chapter fuelled by optimism and determination, we invite you all to join us in celebrating this milestone and continuing to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve. It has been proved that volunteering improves your own wellbeing as well as enriching the lives of others. If you have some time spare and would like to help in any capacity, please ring Lauren on 01752 690444 to discuss.
Thank you to everyone involved for being a vital part of our journey!

We started fundraising for our new 8 seat wheelchair accessible mini bus in September 2019, we have been successful and managed to raise £33,605 and are pleased to announce that we have now been able to purchase the new bus.

Who knew when we started the fundraising that we would be having to adapt our services to help get food and shopping to people during the COVID 19 lockdown. We hope you have seen our new bus making its way around Ivybridge, Cornwood and Sparkwell delivering hot food and click and collect food deliveries from Tescos and Countrymans choice. We also received a grant from the Princes Countryside Trust and Devon County Council who are helping to provide this service.

Our funding has come from various charitable trusts and we would like to thank them for their help with this much needed project; Garfield Weston Foundation, Sir John and Lady Heathcoat Amory Trust, Elise Pilkington Trust, David Gibbons Trust, Pebbles (Rank Organisation), Norman Family Charitable Trust & The Greenhall Foundation 

There has also been a lot of local support with funds being raised by Ivybridge Short Mat Bowls club who raised £800 and the quiz night held at the Sportsmans which raised £404. Collectively the District and County Councilor’s gave £5850.

We would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone for helping to raise these funds and making it possible to purchase the new vehicle. Hopefully we will be able to welcome you aboard soon, when we get back to a ‘new normal’.