Hi there!  It’s Alfie, head of security at VEST Community Transport.  This week has been a difficult one for us here at headquarters.  I arrived Monday morning with Caroline to start the week.  We had 120 people booked onto trips for the day and the sun was shining.  But when we got inside we realised something was wrong.  Over the weekend someone had broken in to our building and stolen both our safes.  We were devastated.

 

There wasn’t much money in the safes.  They were of no use to the people who had taken them.  But they had taken all our bus keys.  It was a very sad day for us.  We couldn’t take out a single bus and had to cancel every booking.  I helped Caroline sort the paperwork, she talked to the police and our insurers and phoned our drivers.  We searched high and low in the nearby areas but couldn’t find any keys.

 

It was a bad day but we had to get back out there.  A local locksmith fitted new building locks, we hired a new security guard to cover the nights when I’m not around and got new locks fitted in our buses.  The older buses were easiest and by Tuesday we had three buses back out there.  We were back in business.  It took Caroline a bit longer to find someone who could sort the locks on our newer buses, but on Wednesday we got someone in.  By Thursday we had our entire fleet on the road.

 

We are all very sorry to all our customers who were disappointed this week.  We are back to service as normal.  Thank you all for being so patient and understanding.

 

 

We were delighted to support Rookwood SPUR charity with their fund-raising event “Wheel 4 Rookwood Spur” in Cardiff Bay on a sunny Sunday in July.

SPUR provide vital support for people living with spinal cord injuries and a range of facilities not only for inpatients themselves but also for their families.

Here is Bussey Mc Bus Face having a rest after her journey to the bay from Rookwood Hospital.

Wheel 4 Rookwood SpUR was a huge success! A great turnout of supporters, inpatients, ex-patients and staff, even the ones who just happened to be out for a walk!

A fantastic afternoon @ the Barrage as 90 “wheelers” took part in the charity ride around Cardiff Bay. Bikes trikes, wheelchairs, scooters and even roller skates did the course. Great family fun for all ages and even the weather played its part with the sun shining. Lots of cheers and smiles at the end as all received their medals and enjoyed well deserved cake and sweets!

Some of the competitors just before the race with one of the Rookwood nursing staff.  Everyone who took part completed the course.

Our thanks to the lovely volunteer driver Ray who provided specialist wheelchair accessible transport on the day.

With military precision the Evergreens organiser (Viv) ensured everyone was accounted for – not an easy task when there are 51 guests!

Four volunteer drivers were assigned to take our lovely ladies and gents to this fabulous venue where they were treated to sandwiches, pastries and enough tea to sink a battleship.

Our volunteer drivers, Nevil, John, Alan and Dave kindly gave up their day to make sure that everyone arrived safely and had a very special day.

Thinking of an afternoon of indulgence?  Call Caroline on 02920 490335 for a chat.

 

We were cordially invited to The National Assembly for Wales last week as they unveiled the results of the study into Bus and Community Transport for Wales.

Often the forgotten transport link we (together with the Community Transport Association) were delighted that the Enterprise and Business Committee recommended that The Welsh Government “should develop a Community Transport Strategy in consultation with the sector” and “work with local authorities to promote an understanding of community transport”

Desperate to see our good looking passengers, Gareth at The National Assembly bribed them with the promise of tea and welsh cakes.

 

One of our lovely volunteer drivers Roger with Sian from CTA Wales and our Chairman Dave Palmer

 

At last with the generous support of our lovely customers we are proud to announce the arrival of our brand new minibus!

 

Feast your eyes on this big beauty.  It’s capable of holding 13 passengers, 1 wheelchair user and 2 companions.  It wasn’t cheap at £50,000 but we think it’s vital that our customers have the very best in safety and comfort.

To book a trip on this lovely new vehicle please call 02920 490335.

 

Hi there!  My name is Alfie and I spend most of my days helping out in the Vest Community Transport office.  Unofficially I am Head of Security. Each day is different but the goal is the same, to make sure all our customers enjoy safe, comfortable journeys.

This morning we arrived at 7:30 and  after making a quick morning cuppa, Caroline and I set to work.  First job of the day is:-

To make sure all the vehicles are clean, fuelled and checked.  Every day is special but today is particularly special because we have some very exciting trips to do.

We have our Golden Oldies group on a shopping trip to Street in Somerset, those girls know how to shop.  We have our Sully Pensioners going for a slap up meal in St Athan’s Golf Club (let’s hope they behave themselves there, it’s very posh). We are taking a lovely lady to Glamorgan Holiday Home in Porthcawl where she will have a week of  rest and relaxation and we hope some sunshine.

All this is on top our day centre and ring and ride work.  No wonder I am exhausted at the end of the day.

We love our customers here; I really like the ones who send me in squeaky toys and doggy sweets.

If your group would like to have a fun day out shopping, eating, relaxing anywhere in the UK, call Caroline on

02920 490335 for a price and driver availability.

Individuals can access our Ring and Ride and Dial a Bus services.  Just click the link on the site for further information.

Love

Alfie

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