Originally Published in East Riding News September 2009

Keeping people active For Jean Denton the local community bus service is vital. Every week it takes her, and as many as 15 others living in and around Hornsea, on shopping trips to Beverley and Driffield.

She said: “The bus is my lifeline. If I didn’t get to use it I wouldn’t get out at all. Without it I would have to move into the middle of town because there is no bus service at all where I live. I couldn’t even get a bus into Hornsea.

“The driver is fantastic. We get lots of groceries, pile them up in the bus and he brings them into our homes. I couldn’t live without it.”

Despite an investment by bus operators over the years to provide modern low-floor buses on most core routes, there are areas where fixed route bus services are not the answer or not commercially viable.

The East Riding Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), which brings together public, private, voluntary and community organisations, has set a target in its Local Area Agreement to provide good access for residents to services and employment.

The community transport service Mrs Denton uses – organised by Holderness Area Rural Transport (Hart) – is one of several subsidised by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to maintain a network for vulnerable people.

Traditionally, accessibility has been measured primarily in terms of distance. For those unable to walk half a mile, the services they need might as well be 20 miles away.

The issues are the same for anyone, whether they live in a city, a market town, a village or a remote hamlet.

To tackle this, the community transport partnership has been set up to ensure all residents have fair access to essential services, including health and social care, education and training, banking, shops, and leisure activities.

While the level of service varies between groups, in each case extra routes have been provided in exchange for financial help to purchase buses.

DID YOU KNOW

• Since April this year there have already been 966 journeys offered to people using Community Transport
• This compares with 2847 journeys in the year between 2008-9 and 2631 during 2007-8
• The number of vehicles providing community transport has also grown, from 14 in April 2008 to 17 in April 2009. A further four vehicles will be added by April 2010

NOTES TO EDITORS:

H.A.R.T. (Holderness Area Rural Transport)

1. H.A.R.T. is a registered Charity operating door to door dial-a-ride Community Transport services for North, Mid and South Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire
2. H.A.R.T. MEDiBUS services include dial-a-ride transport to all the Hospitals, doctors, dentists and specialist clinics in Hull and East Yorkshire.
3. H.A.R.T. Dial a Ride MiBUS and Shopping services operate from Holderness villages to market towns and supermarkets.
4. H.A.R.T. Community Transport Volunteer car services are available to anyone who doesn't have easy access to transport in Holderness.

EAST RIDING LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

www.lsp.eastriding.gov.uk

What is a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP)?

• An LSP is a partnership that brings together organisations from public, private, community and voluntary sector in a local authority area. The key objective of the LSP is to improve the quality of life in that area.