We have some sad news and some exciting news…our bus Dobby is very poorly and he was poorly at the end of last year as well so he is coming off the road.
We’ve been working really hard to reduce our expenditure and improve costs over the past few years so we are (luckily) in a position that we can just about replace him.
For names we’ve decided we’re taking inspiration from the Bard so any new buses will be Shakespearean themed!
Help us choose what our new bus should be called by completing our poll
📊 What do you think the new bus should be called? A: Hamlet
Last year we applied to the UWE CAKE (Community Action and Knowledge Exchange) project to have some free consultancy work, our project was a new website to supersede our long serving but aging original site.
We were thrilled that our project was selected by a team of wonderful students that are in their final year.
We met with Tom, Serena, Seb, Veena, and Elliot and discussed what we would like on our new website, and what Community Transport does.
They have done an absolutely incredible job and we are pleased to announce:
Working with this group of fantastic students has been absolutely brilliant, not only is our new website beautiful, but they have taken the time to gain a perfect understanding of Community Transport and why it is important, we feel they have really captured the essence of Community Transport and that our new website really showcases GCT and the wider sector.
We will be forever grateful to the team for choosing our project, completing the project to such a high standard but also really taking the time to learn about GCT. They are an incredible bunch of people and we know that they will go far in their futures.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Tom, Serena, Seb, Veena, and Elliot and we wish you all the very best for your final year and assessments, we think you will smash it
Our friend Mark Austen along with two other blind guides are hosting immersive and interactive guided nature walks of Westonbirt that offer people, particularly those with sight difficulties, a different way of experiencing the arboretum.
Checkout this news story about the walks from BBC News Gloucestershire:
If you are interested in these guided Sensing Nature Walks Mark and the team have provided a schedule of their upcoming walks for this season on the Forestry England Website: HERE
At our most recent Management Committee meeting we have taken the difficult decision to increase our fares. They last increased in 2023 and we need to take this step to mitigate our increasing costs as much as we can, we need to ensure that we are viable.
We’d like to remind passengers that anyone in financial difficulty can speak to the office in confidence.
From the 1st of May our fares will increase to: Ring and Ride: 0-5 miles- £6.50 (this charge is for a return journey) 5-10- £7.50 (this charge is for a return journey)
Anyone without a bus pass would pay £2 more on top of this.
Carers charge will increase to £5.00
Out of Area Charges: £0.50 will be added, so if the fare was £17.00 it will now be £17.50 etc.
Voluntary Car/Hospital Service: The fares for hospital transport using our own vehicles will not increase but we are going to increase the admin fee to £2.50- the admin charge has not been increased since 2023 and we need to take this step to ensure that this service also remains viable. The mileage rate will continue to be £0.50 per mile payable directly to the driver.
Day trip fares will also raise slightly and these will be listed on the monthly programme.
We want to give passengers as much notice as possible about the increase so it won’t be implemented until May.
We do encourage any passenger that is worried about these increases to get in touch with us, we will be feeding back regularly to the Management Committee.
With our warm thanks for your support and understanding, The GCT Team
As many of you will know, the requests for hospital transport are increasing each month….
We are so grateful to our volunteers but there are some journeys we cannot cover, we are wondering if a hospital shuttle bus would mean we could help more passengers. Volunteers would still undertake other journeys, so it may be that we have a shuttle bus to and from Bristol as this would serve the maximum hospitals.
It would still be door to door and with a lovely driver! It would mean that we’d have to ask passengers for a lot of flexibility, so you may need to arrive earlier than your appointment time and wait for a return journey.
We want to know how passengers would feel about this so we have made a short survey.
You can find the survey here and you can complete it online:
We are pleased to announce the continuation of our further afield trips for 2025.
We do not have funding for this programme so the fares will be slightly higher, £13 (with a bus pass) £15 for non-bus pass holders.
We will endeavour to get every passenger onto at least one trip, we want to make it as fair as possible. We will have two buses for each trip, so we will have buses collecting in different areas but you can meet up with friends when you arrive.
These are designed to be Days Out! Generally passengers can choose what they want to do at each destination but if you want some help booking somewhere to eat we’re more than happy to help. Earlier pickups likely to make sure you have a full day out!
Fri 14th Feb– Cardiff- Shop at Cardiff Market, Queens Arcade or St David’s Dewi Sant. Cardiff Castle and the National Museum are a short walk from the shopping quarter. Sneak a peek at the Principality Stadium if Rugby is your sport!
Fri 7th March– Tewkesbury & Dobbies Garden Centre) we will visit the garden centre first and then dropped near the High Street so passengers can explore the town and choose where to visit, variety of pubs and cafes. There is also the Abbey and the John Moore Countryside Museum you could visit!
Tues 22nd April– Ross on Wye- The ‘birthplace of British Tourism’ independent shops as well as specialist vintage shops and boutiques. Lots of places to eat within the town centre and historical points of interest for those that may wish to investigate further!
Weds 7th May– Wells- Visit Wells Cathedral or browse the shops and market area. Drop off and pick up will be by the cathedral. The majority of the cathedral is accessible, there is a ramp or 5 steps to access. Some areas are only accessible via a few steps that can be steep, but for those with less mobility the main area is still accessible and beautiful!
Mon 2nd June– Cirencester- ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’ explore picturesque Castle Street and Market Place, visit the Abbey or stroll around the historical streets and visit the shops.
Fri 27th June– Clevedon- A stroll along the seafront, passengers will be dropped off near the bandstand and then can walk along the sea front to visit the pier if they wish. The main drag is quite flat but it can get a bit hilly in the town.
Thurs 14th August– Burnham on Sea- a day at the seaside!
Tues 26th August– Weston Super Mare- a day at the seaside!
Tues 28th October– Swindon Outlet- Swindon Designer Outlet/Museum of the Great Western Railway. Explore the covered shopping area and grab yourself a bargain, visit the museum and take your pick of lots of lovely places to eat!
Mon 24th November– Clarks Village- Finish your Christmas shopping visiting a vibrant mix of designer and high street brands showcasing some of the most fashion, homeware, sports and outdoor, footwear, accessories and much more – for less!
Christmas Opening Hours 2024
Open as normal Week Commencing Monday 16th Dec-Fri 20th Dec
Mon 23rd Dec Open as Normal
Closed from Tues 24th December-Weds 1st Jan 2025
*Re open on Thurs 2nd January 2025*
If you do have a medical appointment over the Christmas period, please do get in touch with the office before our Christmas shutdown.
Mon 23rd Dec will be the last day for making bookings, the Ring and Ride and the office until the 2nd of Jan 2025.
Our emergency phone will be switched off for this period Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year
Wishing you all a peaceful and Merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year, we are so grateful to all our passengers and it is our privilege to help you all. We look forward to speaking and seeing you all in 2025. With our very best wishes, the GCT Team x
Thank you so much to everyone who completed this, it is not too late to hand one in if you haven’t already, we can update the results!
It shows some interesting insights.
The majority of respondents are 80-90 years old.
All respondents rate us Excellent or Good
Most respondents use us for medical appointments
Using GCT has improved passenger’s quality of life, life satisfaction, social contact with people, health and wellbeing and made people feel happier with day to day life.
We have tried to summarise the results but would remind passengers we always have open ears for comments, suggestions and questions!
Our passenger base is increasing along with the amount of requests we receive and we are advertising for new volunteers to join our wonderful team so that we can help more people. If you’d like to know a bit more please don’t hesitate to call us! We make sure volunteering fits around YOUR life and are so grateful for every minute and mile!
Last year we applied to the UWE CAKE (Community Action and Knowledge Exchange) project to have some free consultancy work, our project was a new website to supersede our 
We were thrilled that our project was selected by a team of wonderful students that are in their final year.
Working with this group of fantastic students has been absolutely brilliant, not only is our new website beautiful, but they have taken the time to gain a perfect understanding of Community Transport and why it is important, we feel they have really captured the essence of Community Transport and that our new website really showcases GCT and the wider sector. 
You can also now complete a 
