Seend
Wiltshire
Wiltshire
seend.org.uk
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Seend Wiltshire |
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seend.org.uk
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From Tuesday 2nd October 2007 the Shuttle journey to Melksham will no longer include Bromham – making the travel time for Seend residents much shorter. The new timetable can be viewed HERE
Please ring Terry Sleightholme on 01380 828203 if you need further information about the timetable as the 12 weeks draw to a close.
The Thursday timetable
is is now included in the main Timetable above.
Please see the "Use Your Shuttle" Posters produced by Seend School Pupils
In 1991 various villages within Kennet District were asked if they had the need for, and the ability to run, a community bus. A village meeting was arranged by the Parish Council. A committee was formed and after a long study – which included looking at existing community buses, asking villagers about their needs, visiting dealers, and drawing up a proposal – we were ready to go. The initial finance would come from two basic sources – Kennet District Council and the Rural Development Commission.
KDC were prepared to finance a standard run-of-the-mill, factory-produced minibus, but Seend, being what it is, wanted something better. So, we set about raising additional finance. We ‘sold’ the seats to sponsors for £30 a time to raise £500. We held fund-raising events. We approached Wiltshire County Council, who gave us a donation towards a tail lift, so that people with disabilities could be accommodated, as well as an electric-powered folding door with low entrance step. The RDC would match any monies raised by other sources, plus up to £1,000 if necessary to cover any losses in the first year's operation. Eventually, we had sufficient resources to acquire a Leyland DAF 400 with 16 passenger seats. In February 1993, the first service run was made. We have to conform to a timetable and the services are registered with the Traffic Commissioners. The bus has two permits; one to run bus services and the other to allow for private hire operations. After six years, that first vehicle was replaced by the Seend Shuttle Mark II, a Mercedes Sprinter. That was replaced by Mark III – a Volkswagen model – in 2006. We no longer have a tail lift, as it was hardly ever used, but we still have a conveniently low step – and the new model has more room for shopping and luggage.
The bus operates regular passenger services. There is a service every morning in term-time, which transports children to Seend school. Except on Bank Holidays, the Shuttle runs a service around the village up to the Post Office on a Monday morning. On Tuesday mornings, it runs to Bromham and Melksham, and on Thursday it ‘shuttles’ between all parts of Seend and Devizes and Bromham. (Bromham was included in the timetables in 2006, and now contributes several volunteer drivers and some funding.) Even if you have your own transport, try using the Shuttle now and then to avoid the hassle of parking, and enjoy travelling among friends.
N.B. Those over-60s who are in possession of a bus pass can use it on the scheduled services.
When the bus is not required for scheduled services, it is available for private hire by individual villagers or village organisations. The cost to hire is 85p per mile run (with a reduction for miles over 200), with a minimum charge of £10. This includes all costs, but you are usually expected to find your own driver, who has to be approved and accepted on to our list of insured drivers.
Ask any of the many groups
who use it, how an outing is improved by travelling together in the Shuttle.
Regular hirers include village skittle teams, a group who go shopping in Bath
or Salisbury
on the first Wednesday of each month, and a group that goes to Stratford-on-Avon
occasionally to the theatre. The options are many. We’ve taken holidaymakers
to the airport, and groups of friends or families on outings to the coast.
The credit for all of this lies mainly with those people who give their time voluntarily to drive both scheduled runs and private hire work. The scheduled services could not be run at the fares which are charged without those who drive for private hire bringing in the income that subsidises those services, and allows us to build up funds towards a new vehicle when necessary.
As with most voluntary organisations, there is always work to be done and not enough people to do it! So, if you are a driver between the ages of 26 and 70 we would welcome you into the fold, even if you are only occasionally available. Maybe you are a Mum or Dad of one of the children that take the Shuttle to school in the morning, and could return the compliment by doing the odd trip. Get in touch with Pete – whose number is given below – and have a trial run on the bus. You will see what a pleasure it is to drive.
If you do not drive and would still like to help in some way, such as keeping the bus clean or helping out with maintenance checks (making sure lights and brakes work, oil and water are sufficient etc) please get in touch.
It is not the Committee’s bus, it is YOUR bus. It is a wonderful asset to the village, so let us use it and keep it rolling.
Peter Wallis (Chairman of
the Community Bus Committee) 828757.
Alison Cobbing (private hire bookings and drivers’ rota) 828568.
Tessa Doe (to volunteer to join the cleaning rota) 828617.