Doorstep shopper service a hit with passengers
A door-to-door shopper bus service is helping people who struggle to use public transport for any reason get easy access to essential supplies while creating lasting friendships.
Hertfordshire-based Communities 1st is a voluntary and community organisation and has six fully accessible minibuses that pick up vulnerable people from the comfort of their own homes and take them to and from the local supermarkets.
Amber Dalton, Assistant Manager at Communities 1st, explained the service, which Three Rivers District Council helps fund, provides a more sociable, low-cost alternative to taxis/private hire journeys and is a more convenient service for those who struggle with public transport.
She said: “It’s a bus service with a personal element to it. It’s a door-to-store service, so residents with mobility limitations have an easy and affordable way of visiting the shops
“The service also provides an opportunity for our passengers to build up friendships with other users and the driver as well who take very good care of all of our passengers and are trained should an incident occur.”
Susan from Abbots Langley has been using the service for her shopping needs since it expanded in Three Rivers in 2022.
“It’s not easy coming from Abbots Langley”, said the 83-year-old. “It’s hard to get a bus from Abbots Langley after the 318 was cut. Without this service, I would struggle to go to the shops, and I would have to rely on other people to do it for me.”
The service costs £6 for a door-to-door return journey and £2 extra with a carer with a £10 individual yearly membership. The bus operates four days a week covering the following areas:
Monday:
South Oxhey & Carpenders Park area
Tuesday:
Abbots Langley, Bedmond & Leavesden area
Sarratt, Chandler's Cross, Loudwater & Croxley Green area
Thursday:
Rickmansworth, Moor Park, & Mill End area
South Oxhey, Carpenders Park area
Friday:
Chorleywood, Maple Cross, & West Hyde area
Rickmansworth, Moor Park & Mill End area
For more information please visit: www.communities1st.org.uk/shopper
To sign up for the shopper bus service, email Communities 1st at: travel@communities1st.org.uk
Or call on 01727 649980 between 8am - 4pm, Mon-Fri
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