Community Wheels

Cumbria County Council is providing a new community transport scheme in the Lyth Valley. The ‘Community Wheels’ initiative is said to be the first of its kind in Cumbria. It will involve a team of volunteer drivers providing a demand led, door-to-door local transport service for residents. It starts on 18 September after the 541 bus service for Crook, Winster, Underbarrow, Crosthwaite and Brigsteer stops running the previous week. The 541 service currently operates every Wednesday and has been funded by parish councils in the area since May 2011, but the funding is about to end.

Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet member responsible for highways and transport, Councillor Keith Little, said, ‘We have a strong track record of providing community transport in Cumbria for the past 20 years or so. By investing in some minibuses for our new Community Wheels initiative, we can provide local communities with a responsive service to help people to get around in areas that don’t have a bus service. We’ve been working with local people to set up a scheme for the Lyth Valley and we’ll be promoting the new service and encouraging local residents to sign up before September. We are also looking to roll out Community Wheels to some other areas of the county without a bus service in the coming months.’