What is the Community Transport Service?
Kent Coast Volunteering provides an essential, volunteer-led community transport service for the Dover District, Folkestone and Hythe and Thanet plus surrounding villages. It enables residents to attend Hospital, GP and dental appointments, as well as visit relatives, go shopping or attend social events.
Unfortunately, public transport is not always an option for people. This can be because of personal circumstances, disability or simply because there is no public transport available.
Our transport service is there to enable people living in the area to remain as independent as possible and to help prevent isolation.
How does it work?
The Community Transport Service is a door-to-door transport service for those who would otherwise struggle to get to medical appointments or become isolated within their own homes.
Please note we ask for at least 3 working days’ notice when booking your journey (excluding weekends).
All our drivers are volunteers, using their own cars, who are DBS checked and referenced. They pick you up from your home and return you back there after the appointment (drivers will wait for you for up to one hour for a local trip and up to two hours for a hospital appointment). If your visit is going to be longer, you can still get a lift home, but this will be charged as a double trip and the driver will return for you later, which they will arrange with you.
What are the criteria for joining the service?
Clients must be over 65 years old, and they have to be able to manoeuvre themselves into and out of the vehicle. We are currently unable to assist those who are wheelchair-bound.
Most of the cars used can take folding wheelchairs and Zimmer frames. They will also take escorting passengers at no extra charge – all we ask is that you notify us at the time of booking, thus enabling us to ensure the car provided is suitable.
What is the cost?
There is a yearly membership fee of £25 to belong to the service and each trip will cost approximately 50p per mile, which goes to the volunteer driver, plus a small administration fee of £2 per trip (or £3 for journeys over 30 miles) which goes to the charity. Please note that there is a minimum charge per trip of £5 incl. admin fee for the first one to seven miles, then 50p for each mile thereafter.
All our drivers are volunteers and give their time free of charge, but they are reimbursed their fuel costs at a rate of 45p per mile for the trip – which is from their own home to the pick-up, then 50p a mile to the destination and back to your home, and then 45p a mile back to their home again. You pay the driver in cash at the end of the trip.
The driver will also collect the administration fee for the charity, which is then paid by the driver to Kent Coast Volunteering to help towards our costs of organising the trip, including making phone calls and keeping the scheme running.
Alternatively, for those who would like to pay on account, you will receive a monthly invoice; this is ideal for those who do not handle their own money or where the charges are being paid by a third party.
Clients are also responsible for the payment of any parking/toll charges and, in the case of London trips, the congestion charge if applicable.
How do I sign up?
Apply here
Please give us a call on 01304 380513 or send us an email to transport@kcv.org.uk to sign up to our service.
To get the process started, you can download our membership form HERE and email it to transport@kcv.org.uk and someone in the team will call you back.
Or you can download the form HERE, fill it in and post it to us at Community Transport, Kent Coast Volunteering, 3 Park Street, Deal, CT14 6AG, with a cheque for £25 to Kent Coast Volunteering, if you prefer, but we prefer to take payment over the phone, if you are happy to do this.
