The Community Car Service is subsidised by a grant provided by Suffolk County Council. At present we have around twenty volunteers driving for the Community Car Service in their own cars on a non profit making basis. Volunteers are reimbursed for their out of pocket expenses but donate their time freely, providing transport for the people of Halesworth and the surrounding villages.

Who May Use The Service?

Anyone, young or old, with or without a disability may ask to make certain journeys for which neither a family car nor any form of suitable public transport is available.

What journeys are eligible?

     1.     Local visits to the doctor, hospital, dentist or optician.

     2.     Local Shopping and personal business.                   

3.     Visiting relatives or friends at home or in hospital.

4.     To link with nearest public transport services.   

Do I get charged for the journey?

Yes, passengers contribute on a mileage basis towards the cost of a journey. This charge is calculated from the start of the driver’s journey (usually his home address). The current charges will be advised when you book your journey.

We try our best to match passengers to drivers in their locality where possible; although as many of our drivers live in Holton, Wenhaston and the outlying villages, there may be occasions when your driver will have travelled a few miles before picking you up. 

How do I book a Community Car?

The Car Service phone line is only manned on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday between 10.00am and 1.00pm. At other times you may leave a message on our answering machine, but please remember that your request may not be picked up until the co-ordinator is next in the office. We do ask for a minimum of 2 working days notice of any transport request but will try our best to help out in an emergency. See the Contact Us page for more details.

Our drivers are normally available for journeys during the day from Monday to Friday. Occasionally we are able to meet one-off requests for transport in the evenings and weekends, if we have a willing volunteer! To allow us to plan our drivers' journeys, it is useful if you can indicate the approximate length of your appointment.

If you have a routine weekly or monthly appointment, for example going to the hairdressers, visiting a friend or shopping, we can arrange a regular car for you, usually with the same driver. Once this has been set up, you need only contact us to cancel or change the arrangement.

On average our drivers travel over 70,000 miles per year, responding to over 4,700 requests for transport. Demand for the service continues to increase and we do ask our passengers to be flexible from time to time, particularly with regard to non essential journeys. 

If you wish to book a car, or require further information about the service, either for yourself, family member or friend, please telephone Karen on 01986 874290 or email the Volunteer Centre at mail@halesworthvc.fsnet.co.uk