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“Saints on Wheels”
Saints (Brackley) Community Trust is going on the road!
Back in April, Ability, a community bus service based in Towcester and covering South Northamptonshire, closed. This left Brackley and the surrounding villages without transport links, something which is even more critical in areas that don't have a regular bus service. It offered a town service to get local residents down to the football club on a Wednesday for a social event, and some of those residents have been unable to attend regularly for the past few months as a result.
Supported by Brackley Town Football Club, the Saints charity has been able to acquire one of the minibuses, which will come into operation on 1 September. The service is called "Saints on Wheels", and you will see our branded minibus out and about.
There is a membership fee of £40 a year for Brackley residents and £50 a year for residents of surrounding villages. Journeys are then free of further charge, although there will be an optional donations box on the dashboard to help with running costs.
The service will run with volunteer drivers (all DBS-checked), with an additional volunteer on the vehicle to help passengers on and off. Initially, there will be a Wednesday round-town run to get people down to the football club and back home later, plus supermarket runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, helping local residents who don't have their own means of transport get to and from our principal shops.
Subject to sufficient demand and enough willing drivers, the scheme will be extended to offer a village run, bringing villagers into Brackley, probably on a Friday, to visit the market, to shop, to have a coffee and a natter, whatever they like – as long as they are in the right place at the right time to catch the bus home! No second chances!
For further information, for a membership form, or to discuss available transport, just ring 01280 704077 and press option 5. If there is no answer, there will be an opportunity to leave a message, and we will call you back. We can also be reached by email at
The charity is grateful to the football club for its very practical support; there will also be some supporting funding from the National League Trust and West Northamptonshire Council.
CSB/220826