New taxi service to give villagers a lift to Canterbury city centre

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Residents from remote villages will no longer feel stranded, when a new discounted taxi service launches today.

The pilot scheme, called Canterbury District Community Transport, will ferry villagers from the Hilltop community to Canterbury city centre in an eight-seater taxi.

The service will work closely with Longley's Taxis, and cost as little as £2 or £4 for a return journey rather than the usual taxi fare of £34.

The social enterprise, which has been partly funded by the Gurkha Peace Foundation and County Councillor Martin Vye's members' fund, will officially launch in New House Lane at 10am.

Joint co-ordinator of the Canterbury and Coastal Re-think Mental Illness Carers' Support Group Cheryl Ives said the service would most benefit those affected by the withdrawal of the post bus.

She said: "We are so lucky to be chosen for the first pilot scheme. When we lost the use of the post bus, we had no access to similar affordable public transport.

"This will enable us to do our shopping, or visit the hospital, surgery, dentist, optician and bank or simply meet our friends from other areas."

Chairman of the service's management committee Brian Staley said: "This is real localism as so many surveys have identified the lack of transport as one of the biggest needs in numerous small villages for both the elderly and children.

"If we succeed there will be steady expansion and an increase of services which could provide work and jobs."

Vice-chairman of the Pensioners' Forum Ann Belworthy said the service would enable the elderly – who had been hit hardest by the recession – to live full lives.

She added: "Inexpensive transport is a crucial service. I hope the pilot scheme will lead to more funding and the expansion of services both in New House Lane and elsewhere."

Source; http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/New-taxi-se ... story.html

So let me get this right, they will send an 8 seater taxi for "one person" and charge you £2 for a job which used to be £17, am I right?

She added: "Inexpensive transport is a crucial service.

Wherever I click nowadays, it's like a race to the bottom.

This is why people wander up to me at heathrow and think I'm taking them back to Cambridge for £80 and Birmingham for £120.

I always point them in the direction of the Bus Station.

Same here mate. One chap got in my motor the other week and wanted to go to West Bridgeford the other side of Nottingham, I quoted him £35 which is just about right as it's the other side of the City, he said £30 for cash? I said nah £35. He said "come on you can do better than that"? I said nope £35 no less. Anyway off we go and it transpired that he owned his own car repair business which was doing very well indeed, I said with a smile "do you do discounts for Taxi Drivers"? The look on his face was priceless.

At the journeys end he swerved me £40 and said get a drink mate.