THE ability of a vital transport service in Tenbury to meet the needs of people in the area is threatened by a shortage of volunteer drivers.

John Driver, chairman of the Tenbury Transport Trust, says that demand for its services is growing but that it will not be possible to meet the need without more drivers.

“We now have some 200 registered passengers but we are really struggling to find sufficient available car and minibus drivers,” said Mr Driver.

“So far we have not turned any clients down but the day is approaching if we cannot enrol more drivers.

“The demand is such that we are doing 1,000 journeys a year and have only been going for 12 months.

“There are about 30 drivers on the list but only about 10 of those will be active at any one time and because they are volunteers availability depends upon what else they might be doing.

“This is how we have to operate as we do not have the money to pay drivers and if we did pay people this would change the whole status of the organisation."

The trust currently has a fleet of two mini buses with a third to be added in the near future thanks to a Government Scheme to help community transport initiatives.

Tenbury Transport Trust has at its core a number of regular services that link the town with Kidderminster, Leominster and villages in the Teme Valley.

These services are operated on a scheduled basis by two mini buses currently leased from Worcestershire County Council.

One of these is a Mercedes Trekker that has joined the fleet after a trial period and the other is the elderly ‘Teme Hopper’ bus that is approaching the end of its operational life.

An application for a new bus that will be owned by the trust has been successful and it is expected to arrive later in the year. This is as a result of a Government Scheme to assist community transport initiatives.

It had originally been intended that the new bus when it arrives would replace the ageing and increasingly unreliable ‘Teme Hopper’ but Mr Driver says that the demand for services is such that the trust may keep all three buses.

“I am hoping that the new bus will become available in the next three months,” said Mr Driver, who added that this is one of the reasons why the need to recruit new volunteers is so important.

In addition to providing the community services the trust allows groups to hire the buses and a driver on a commercial basis as this generates vital revenue.

This is especially important as money that the trust hoped would be made available from Tesco, as part of the planning agreement for the new supermarket, has not arrived yet as the work on the store has not properly started.

The new bus from the Government will not be available for hire and can only be used for community groups which is another reason why the trust may try to hold on to both of its existing buses.

People who use their own cars receive a mileage allowance and in most cases insurance will not be affected.

Because the buses all have 15 seats there is no need for a driver to hold a public service vehicle license although there will be an initial assessment.