Speaker 1: Hello, I'm ray Lee and this is the Gillingham Podcast
Speaker 1: for anyone living in the Gillingham and Spa area. On Thursday,
Speaker 1: the twenty sixth of February, the Gillingham Community Shuttle bus
Speaker 1: service was launched. A crowd gathered outside Waitrose in Gillingham
Speaker 1: for the ceremony. Thanks to speak was Counselor Belinda ride Out.
Speaker 2: Thank you for all coming here today for the launch
Speaker 2: over community Center bus. So as the Gillingham Community Transport
Speaker 2: Group made.
Speaker 3: Up of a cancer Barry Hawklan here wait they and
Speaker 3: myself under Young Brandon of the Three Rivers Partnership, and
Speaker 3: we are proud to stand here today along with your
Speaker 3: wall to launch an initiative that's been quite a long
Speaker 3: time in the making, but when we are here at
Speaker 3: last to day correct So Sadly, the demise of the
Speaker 3: Norcat left a community transport gap here in the North
Speaker 3: norsrset which we are now proud to be able to
Speaker 3: film the best of our ability. After consultation with the
Speaker 3: residents of Gillingham and Milton on Star, we have worked
Speaker 3: with a very obliging Tim and Carry a North community
Speaker 3: transport for bring new green Swid. The super bus is
Speaker 3: a service to operate alongside existing public transport networks and
Speaker 3: our own Gillingham's Gillingson moluntary cast Link Speed and the
Speaker 3: shot of us along the driver off Ye will be
Speaker 3: a gilling Of every Thursday to offer three return services
Speaker 3: into town for the residents are non Star, Peace, Martian
Speaker 3: Wine including Comedy Lane.
Speaker 2: Stops include the high Street.
Speaker 3: Holding the Ball, the bus shelter, top of guardings laid
Speaker 3: by Gillingham School, Rivers Meet, Leisure Center, bar and Soldiery
Speaker 3: and Waitrose and plenty of time has been allowed for
Speaker 3: presidents to be able to access services and facilities or
Speaker 3: just to get together in cafes and socialize. There will
Speaker 3: be two poundy trick products one hand with children and
Speaker 3: dogs go free.
Speaker 4: Section one six Developer funding from some of the large
Speaker 4: larger developments of Gillingham and it's a successful application for
Speaker 4: community transport funding from Dorset Council has enabled the scheme
Speaker 4: to yellowhead and I think i'm eamly recurring for the.
Speaker 2: Pass forward for the transport Flan.
Speaker 3: And very greatful for the support of the three of
Speaker 3: us partnership Gillingham Town Council, Dorst.
Speaker 2: Council, North Dorset Transport Action Group.
Speaker 4: Gillingham Carling giving Them, Medical Practice, Givingham Chamber of Commerce
Speaker 4: and many local.
Speaker 3: Businesses and individuals who have shown their support for the scheme.
Speaker 2: It is a pilot scheme for six months.
Speaker 3: If it's well used the band remains high, then we
Speaker 3: will be look at it sending it to further days.
Speaker 3: So the message really is please use the shutter bus
Speaker 3: as it may well be a risk of losing it.
Speaker 1: So anywhere then Phil Weakley, who can paign for the service.
Speaker 5: For those that don't know, I mean, my name is Phil,
Speaker 5: and I'm a local resident. I'm not a counselor, and
Speaker 5: I'm also being lame with a campaigner. And following lockdown,
Speaker 5: we and Gillingham lost our local bus service prost me
Speaker 5: two years ago. Dought It Council asked for comments on
Speaker 5: local transport before lockdown. Getting On had the number two
Speaker 5: fifty two bus service which came in here and went
Speaker 5: all the way around the town up all their states
Speaker 5: and we lost that. So today we have the number
Speaker 5: three bus that travels around the outskirts of the town,
Speaker 5: mostly empty, and then continued to stirm it's no good
Speaker 5: twenty getting on folks require them the original fifty two
Speaker 5: route as before. As before lockdown probably been stopped off
Speaker 5: be a reek. This to be reinstated with a regular
Speaker 5: torrent table. This should alleviate the town parking problem and
Speaker 5: to reduce carbon emission due to reduction cars travels to
Speaker 5: the town. So on that basis, I wrote to the
Speaker 5: town council about this service and was put in touch
Speaker 5: with the Transport Fall which consisted of Counselor Belinda read
Speaker 5: Out and very Ron Clement. This is when I discovered
Speaker 5: that they were investigating a local shuttle service, especially for
Speaker 5: Nordcat sorry especially as an rdcat has ceased to offer.
Speaker 2: After a few.
Speaker 5: Meetings, the finding it been identified and many notes support
Speaker 5: in the project compiled by the team, and we're finally
Speaker 5: here today. Thank you Belinda, Barry dort It, Council, three
Speaker 5: Rivers and everybody else that thank you.
Speaker 1: Then Counselor Barry von Clements.
Speaker 6: Well, I'm going to issue a phrase that the town
Speaker 6: clerk goes pale. I'm going to wing it. I haven't
Speaker 6: written anywhere. I just really Blinda and Philip basically said
Speaker 6: it all. I would just like to say that how
Speaker 6: fabulous it is to see community power in action.
Speaker 2: It's the community that has worked.
Speaker 6: It's the community that has achieved this, and it's up
Speaker 6: to the community now to get behind the project, to
Speaker 6: use it and to keep it going. So thank you everybody,
Speaker 6: and also one last thank you to my fellow directors
Speaker 6: of three RP who so kindly agreed to take this
Speaker 6: project under their umbrella. There was no arm twisted much.
Speaker 1: And finally the mayor Councilor Fleona Collen, who cut the
Speaker 1: ribbon and launched the service.
Speaker 2: Of a ribbon cutting.
Speaker 7: I hope that this new service, along with you already
Speaker 7: existing time loop, will go some way to help people
Speaker 7: to prevent them from feeling isolated if they've given up driving.
Speaker 7: I mean, I know from my own personal experience. My
Speaker 7: mum has recently given up PERPA, so this to pick
Speaker 7: up exactly where she lives, so that's really handy. I
Speaker 7: hope that the two things together, will you know, would
Speaker 7: really help people not to feel stuck.
Speaker 2: Okay, you ready on.
Speaker 1: The bus then took its first clode of passengers and
Speaker 1: made its way to the Three Rivers Leisure Center in
Speaker 1: Harding's Lane for a reception, where I spoke to counselor
Speaker 1: Belinda Ride out right, We're now at rivers, meet away
Speaker 1: from the clatter at shopping trolleys. And I'm speaking to
Speaker 1: Belinda ride Up about this new scheme. How did it
Speaker 1: come about, Glinda?
Speaker 8: It's been in my mind for a long time, the
Speaker 8: true and I recognize there's a need.
Speaker 2: For door to door transport.
Speaker 8: It's fairly cheap for people, so I can get out
Speaker 8: and socialize and get to the shops and access all
Speaker 8: sorts of facilities in the town, which is difficult for
Speaker 8: some people, especially if they've given up their car and
Speaker 8: they find themselves isolated. So we've been looking for a
Speaker 8: long time as a group the best way forward. We've
Speaker 8: looked at different ideas. Then we thought, well we might
Speaker 8: as well go to a setup.
Speaker 2: You're already running a.
Speaker 8: Transport system, and so we thought about Doors of Community
Speaker 8: Transport and we spoke to them and it seemed a
Speaker 8: really good idea. So they've got the buses, they've got
Speaker 8: the drivers, they know what they're doing, and so we
Speaker 8: had a meeting with them and came up with a
Speaker 8: with a plan which we've got here today for a
Speaker 8: community transport bus.
Speaker 1: And it's so who's the service.
Speaker 8: For absolutely only one?
Speaker 1: So how does it run? How does it work. You
Speaker 1: have to you have to book your ride.
Speaker 8: I understand you have to register a doors at community
Speaker 8: Transport first. It's just a phone call basically to.
Speaker 1: Register go light a form and.
Speaker 8: Once you're registered you can just ring up and just
Speaker 8: book your ride into.
Speaker 2: Town and let's say door to door service, so you.
Speaker 8: Will be taken into town and you'll be picked up
Speaker 8: and taken home.
Speaker 1: And it's two pounds for adults, a pound for children
Speaker 1: and dogs don't get free, right, So we've got a
Speaker 1: lot of people coming on barking with it, right, And
Speaker 1: how do they pay the charge? They pay the driver,
Speaker 1: They pay the.
Speaker 2: Driver on the day.
Speaker 1: It's basically the stops that are on the the information sheet.
Speaker 1: They're they're the only stop. They don't stop at normal
Speaker 1: bus stops or anything like that, do they.
Speaker 3: It's using the stops already in town that the public transport.
Speaker 1: So that's that's sort of White Marsh, Milton and Star.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we pick up in those areas.
Speaker 8: There's three areas we pick up you've just mentioned and
Speaker 8: their zones A, B and C. And then there's one
Speaker 8: trip out to Milton Nonstyllar first.
Speaker 1: Then it's Peace.
Speaker 8: Marshal Wike and they're brought into town and then they yeah,
Speaker 8: they'll take them back. They'll drop them off at the
Speaker 8: bus stopsite holding the wall in the high street, up
Speaker 8: here the Barn Surgery, Waitrose and up here at rivers
Speaker 8: Meet and then they'll come back around to those stops and.
Speaker 1: Pick people up and take them back. So are there
Speaker 1: plans to expand the service if it's well used.
Speaker 8: Yeah, if there's a big demand then it is a
Speaker 8: pilot scheme for six months, so five months, say July time,
Speaker 8: we will look at it and see if it.
Speaker 2: At leaves tweaking. Because it's not a register service.
Speaker 8: The service can be tweaked and change going to demand,
Speaker 8: So where.
Speaker 1: Can people we'll get more information about the service.
Speaker 8: We've got leaflets which we hope to get out to people.
Speaker 2: We will leave some in the town hall. We should
Speaker 2: be able to find them in your local surgery and online.
Speaker 1: Available online and your there a website.
Speaker 8: Something the Dorset Community Transport website. Yeah right, we'll be
Speaker 8: on there the details brilliant. Well, thanks very much for
Speaker 8: your time and you're welcome.
Speaker 1: To register for the service, book a trip or if
Speaker 1: you have any questions call zero one two five eight
Speaker 1: two eight seven nine eight seven between nine thirty and
Speaker 1: two thirty on weekdays, or email Dorset at ECT charity
Speaker 1: dot co dot uk. For more information, go to www
Speaker 1: dot Dorset dash CT dot co dot uk. If you're
Speaker 1: a member of a group or organization that would like
Speaker 1: to be featured on the Future Killingham Podcast, then you
Speaker 1: can email me at Killingham Podcast at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.