Community transport scheme launches in Levens

Residents in Levens will be able to travel to Milnthorpe more easily from next week thanks to a community transport scheme devised by Cumbria County Council.

Following feedback from the Levens community, the ‘Village Wheels’ pilot scheme is being launched on Friday 24 February. The transport will depart from Levens Village Shop at 10am and return from Milnthorpe at 12 noon every Friday, which is also market day.

Levens Parish Council have worked with the county council to develop and promote the new initiative which, if successful, could be further developed to provide additional transport opportunities.

Village Wheels is the latest initiative which uses the Rural Wheels planning service and smartcard payment to provide timetabled transport.  It is hoped that by promoting Rural Wheels journeys in this way, residents will be encouraged to plan their needs and travel together, benefitting from a reduced fare as a result.

The Rural Wheels planning service is provided within Cumbria County Council’s Integrated Transport Team.  Once registered, scheme users of Rural Wheels can book their place on the Friday timetabled transport service by telephone, and pay the £2 return fare by smartcard.

County councillor Jim Bland, for  Lyth Valley, said:  “It is great news that Levens has been chosen as the pilot area for this new scheme. Due to the rurality of the village public transport is not always a viable option for residents when travelling to other places.

“Village Wheels is a great example of how the county council and councillors listen to the residents’ views and work hard to put them into action.”

Registration for the Village Wheels scheme can be done over the phone contacting the Rural Wheels Planning Service on 0845 602 3786 or by completing an application form which is available in Levens Post Office. There is an initial £5 charge, the full value of which is put onto the transport smartcard.

For more information and to download an application form visit:
www.cumbria.gov.uk/ruralwheels

Rural Wheels is a unique community transport scheme that helps to address the issue of a lack of good public transport provision in some rural areas of Cumbria.  It provides door-to-door transport for people, when required and at reasonable cost of 35p/mile.  The aim is to make better use of the various forms of transport that are available and help to tackle social exclusion.