Kinross-shire charity group launches volunteer bus service to help rural and elderly residents get out and about

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Kinross-shire community has banded together to launch a weekly bus service to help rural and elderly residents get out and about.The volunteer-led scheme by charity Glenfarg Community Transport Group hopes to help fill the gap of dwindling rural bus services in the area.The new free service has been 18 months in the making, welcoming its first passenger on board at Kinross Park and Ride on Thursday.The bus will now run every Thursday through the back roads from the village to Glenfarg Community Centre, making stops along the way.It comes after Stagecoach recently axed the 56 service which followed a similar route.Group treasurer Douglas Fraser, also chair of Glenfarg Community Council, said: “We took an interest in the lack of public transport in the village of Glenfarg due to the withdrawal of one of our bus services from Stagecoach because it was underutilised.

It has been a concern of ours because in our village there are a lot of older people and from time to time they get their licences withdrawn through ill health or whatever else.“It leaves them stranded if they do not have a bus service.“So about a year-and-a-half ago I looked into starting our own community bus and in that time we have now developed a process and are now a charitable status and have nine volunteer drivers.“We are hoping to bring people that don’t have transport into the village to join up with the coffee lounge and do a bit of socialising and get a bit of warmth.“Then we will sit for an hour or so and drop people back on the same route.“It is also giving people the chance to get to the library and the shops in Kinross.”The group has raised £10,000 so far to buy its own 16-seater bus, thanks to grants from Perth and Kinross Council and the