ASHBOURNE COMMUNITY TRANSPORT

NEWS UPDATE DECEMBER 2021

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR SERVICES

We will be running services up to 24th December 2021

And 29th - 31st December 2021

Our Offices will be closed 25th - 28th December 2021

And Monday 3rd January 2022

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Please call us on 01335 300670 if you need more information or email enquiries@ashbournect.org.uk

NEWS UPDATE NOVEMBER 2021

BUS BACK BETTER

Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP)

In response to the Government’s National Bus Strategy – Bus Back Better, Derbyshire and Staffordshire County Council’s have submitted their BSIP – plans for bus services across the Counties for the next 5 years. The aim is to get additional funding for bus services – to improve those we have and add additional services.

ACT has been part of the team developing the Plans and as a result we hope to be able to offer more Demand Responsive services - such as those we run in Staffordshire Moorlands and to the villages between Wirksworth and Ashbourne - to more places, building on the weekly shopping bus services we already provide. Under these plans all buses would run more frequently, and operate later over 7 days per week.

Demand Responsive services are door-to-destination and can link passengers with other bus services and local railway stations as well as to your local market town, to essential healthcare and hospital appointments and provide transdport for all social and leisure aoccasions

FREE Christmas Shopping Buses

from Doveridge & Sudbury into Ashbourne

Running on Saturdays 11th and 18th December

• Pick up at Doveridge Village Hall at 10.30am then from Sudbury Park approx. 15 mins later dropping you in Ashbourne town centre. The return journey will leave Ashbourne at 3.30pm.

• Accessible transport - for wheelchair users and people with mobility or other disabilities.

• Safe and supportive - we take extra care; our drivers and team are there to help.

• Seats on the buses are limited and need to be prebooked.

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To book - call or text Cllr Jacqui Allison on 07967778920

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DERBYSHIRE TRANSPORT SURVEY

In March 2021, the government published a new National Bus Strategy which sets out a framework for how bus services can recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and a vision for future improvements across England. The strategy places a requirement on Derbyshire County Council local bus companies to work together to create a Bus Service Improvement Plan. This will involve developing bold plans for improving local bus services and encouraging more people to use them.

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The government has pledged £3 billion in funding across the country to help deliver these plans, and Derbyshire is aiming to secure a fair share of that funding.

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We want to ensure that improvement plan reflects the views of Derbyshire residents and those visiting or working in the county and we would like to ask you to complete a short questionnaire that Derbyshire County Council have produced. To access the questionnaire please use the following link https://systraltd.researchfeedback.net/dcc_bsip_survey

COVID UPDATE AHEAD OF 19TH JULY 2021

As the restrictions start to lift on 19th July we have made the decision to keep our current Covid protection regime in place to continue to help keep everyone safe.

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We are proposing to retain, for the foreseeable future or until national guidelines become available, the principles of our Covid 19 safety measures (as outlined in our approved Risk Assessments). These will include:

- All buses being sanitised with the industry leading X-Mist sanitiser spray

- Availability and use of hand sanitiser on all vehicles

- 1m+ social distancing wherever possible

- Request to passengers to continue to use face coverings (unless they are exempt)

- Drivers to retain PPE and wear face coverings when carrying passengers.

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To find out more about our services call 01335 300670

NEWS UPDATE JULY 2021

The Board of ACT would like to thank its partner Enterprise Flex-e-Rent for its generous donation of £2000 from the Enterprise Foundation Fund and for tis ongoing support for our Charity.

Enterprise are the long standing supplier of our contract hire minibuses and have worked with us for many years; assisting with the delivery of a range of vehicles from standard minibuses to the custom-built vehicles we need to carry our wide range of passengers, especially those in rural areas where highly flexible vehicles are required.

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COVID UPDATE

ACT continues to invest in ensuring that all our vehicles and your journeys are Covid-Safe.

Following the Government’s decision to delay the lifting of the national Covid-19 restrictions we have maintained our 1m plus social distancing rule – and the mandatory wearing of face masks – on most of our journeys. For your safety we also continue to ensure that all our vehicles are sanitised on at least a weekly basis with the X-Mist sanitising system and our drivers will continue to use PPE as required including the wearing of face masks on all journeys.

However in response to work carried out for the major bus operators by the Confederation of Passenger Transport organisations (CPT) the Dept of Transport has now relaxed the 1m rule for buses and coaches with front facing seats.  This allows more passengers to be carried but face masks are still required.  Therefore for groups we can carry up to 16 passengers if the group agrees to accept this ruling at the time of booking.