Wishing you all a Happy New Year. Our services are back up and running after our Christmas break with a few additional changes due to the new Welsh Government Covid restrictions. We are now limited to 2 people per vehicle on our ring and ride service to enable us to adhere to the 2 meter social distancing rules.
We all know that COVID 19 is still at large and still as dangerous as it always has been. We need to work around it.
We have been busy behind the scenes making our services safe for you all. We have bought in PPE, implemented new cleaning regimes, and installed an antiviral fogging machine to sanitise our vehicles every day. We have done everything we reasonably can to become COVID secure and safeguard you and our workforce.
You can play your part by wearing a face covering, sanitising your hands on entry to the vehicle, and having the correct fare (we are sorry but we can not give change at the moment).
Please do not travel if you feel unwell or have been in touch with anyone who has COVID symptoms.
Ring and Ride
We are so excited to welcome back our Ring and Ride customers. Please ring our booking line on 02920 490325 to let us know where and when you need to go out. Your journey times may change or take a little longer as we ensure vehicles are sanitised after each passenger.
Dial a Bus – Cardiff and The Vale of Glamorgan
We are happy to announce that our Cardiff Town and Culverhouse Cross services are back up and running. Please ring our booking line on 02920 490325 to book your place on the trips.
Unfortunately the Saturday trip to Morrisons Barry is still not available at present.
Group Transport
We are happy to announce that our outings and group transport service is now back up and running. Our volunteer drivers are excited to return and looking forward to being able to take you to all your favourite day trip destinations. Covid regulations are still in place, so we would ask that passengers adhere to wearing masks and there is a limit of a maximum of 11 people to a vehicle.
For all bookings and enquiries please call 02920 490335.
The last eight weeks have been a difficult time for everyone in the UK as restrictions due to COVID-19 have affected all aspects of life across all communities. We at VEST have had to adjust the way we work to ensure that those people who are vulnerable and need our assistance still receive the help that is needed. No one is forgotten about or left without necessities. From ringing our valued members to ensure that they are coping in these difficult times to delivering shopping or picking up prescriptions, we have met these challenges head-on and hope we are making a real difference to the lives of people within our community.
In addition to our normal lines of work, we are working alongside several other groups in the community on various projects. We continue to help to deliver medication for our local pharmacies who are struggling to keep up with the new demands Covid-19 has put on their delivery service. Our team also supported Cardiff Council with the delivery of meals to hundreds of school children who are at home during the lockdown. Over the weeks our network of help has extended to include delivering meals and essentials alongside other groups such as ACT Training, Moorland Road Day Centre, and Food for Life Wales Hare Krishna Charity.
We will remain vigilant in our efforts here at VEST. We promise to continue to support the most vulnerable within our community both our existing customers and the wider community. We want to assure everyone that we are still operating and are here for you. Please call us on 02920 490335 if you need us.
We truly hope everyone stays safe and well during this unsettling period. Passenger and staff safety is our priority and we will continue to follow government advice and take precautionary measures for all services including:-
Ceasing all group transport and standing down all volunteers serving these groups.
Reducing our Ring & Ride and Dial a Bus services for priority transport. This is limited to essential health transport.
While we are not permitted to take those in the high-risk/vulnerable category to shops and pharmacies, we are able to collect foods and medicines on your behalf. Please contact us for more information about this.
We are in constant contact with our local councils and will support all efforts to help our customers and other groups in need at this difficult time.
Please use this link for further government advice.
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Thanks to everyone who supported us again this year. From buying and selling tickets to donating fabulous prizes. We could not have done it without you.
We had some amazing prizes donated this year including a signed rugby ball by the Welsh Rugby team and a signed Wales football shirt.
Here is the lucky winner of the football shirt, Rhys Watkins, a project worker for VISION 21 who create employment opportunities for people with learning needs. He is accompanied by his students Howard, Anthony and Franco and colleague Nick Wildblood. The grins say it all!
We were excited to be asked to provide transport for our local Hindu Centre in Splott who offer support to older people in our community. We do love a celebration and jumped at the chance to be involved.
The group had been invited to attend a national gathering of Hindu community centre members for an event celebrating the second anniversary of a well know prayer group.
The event was held in Harrow, Middlesex and over 300 people arrived on the day from community centres all over the UK.
It was a long day for our volunteer Hitesh but he was well looked after and enjoyed joining the passengers in their motorway picnic.
We were delighted to receive a donation of 120 Easter Eggs in the run up to Good Friday.
Here are the folk from The Cardiff North Skills Exchange on a lovely lunch trip to The Anchor Inn in Tintern receiving their Easter Eggs.
https://vestcommunitytransport.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/easter-eggs.jpg
For £1 each way, our service will pick you up from your front door and take you to M&S in the city centre. You will have three hours to shop before the bus will pick you up from the same spot and return you home. Our buses can take wheelchairs and are fitted with lifts if you have difficulties climbing steps. All our drivers are trained and are happy to assist you on and off the bus, and to take any shopping into your house when you get home. For any customers who need extra assistance we can also drop of at Cardiff Shopmobility, just let us know when you make your booking.
To register for the Dial a Bus service, call us on 029 20490325. We will send you the timetable for service and give you a registration number to make booking quick and easy.
vestcommunitytransport.org 