Bob the Bus – there’ll be another one along soon…

4th April 2024 Peter Shearn

All public transport took a hit during the pandemic, but the local yellow buses have recovered pretty well.

The scheduled services into town from Bridgetown and Follaton (plus Ashprington, Cornworthy and Stoke Gabriel) carried 40,000 passengers in the last 12 months. The Travel Club now has over 100 members, and they continue to work with a whole range of community groups and other private hire customers.

The magic organiser

All this is possible because of a remarkable coordinator Lyn Price, and nearly 40 volunteers who undertake almost all the driving assignments. Unlike the commercial bus companies, Bob the Bus receives no subsidy from the county council, so all the income comes from fares, donations and one-off grants.

2 new positions..

Lyn is taking a break in the future and so they are recruiting for 2 part time people to;

Ensure that buses are prepared for weekly service.
Monitor and record mileage and fuel consumption on a weekly basis.
Ensure that buses are delivered for safety checking and servicing when required.
Undertake occasional driving shifts.
Prepare a monthly rota for our volunteer drivers.
Deal with bookings and payments for Travel Club trips.
Respond to enquiries for private hire and coordinate with other operations.

The Chair of the Trustees, Steve Grove is keen to hear from as many interested candidates as possible for these varied and interesting paid positions. You can email him directly for more information here.

Drive your neighbours around the bend

One thing Bob can always use is more volunteer help. This could be behind the wheel (driving a bus is almost as exciting as driving a train), or getting involved with admin tasks, such as PR and fundraising.

The existing fleet of four minibuses are beginning to feel their age. The vehicles range from 8 to 16 years old and are becoming less reliable and more expensive to keep on the road. So last year, the trustees placed an order for a brand-new bus, having failed to find anything suitable in the used bus market.

Costly

Take a deep breath, as the bill will come to an eye-watering £110,000 (plus VAT). Totnes Community Transport (the official name), reckon about half that figure can come from their own reserves, leaving at least £50k to raise. Match funding has been applied for from all the usual suspects, including the National Lottery from whom they were successfully granted £20,000 but they’re also inviting support from the general public and local businesses.
Individuals can donate via our website at https://bobthebus.org.uk/donate/.

If you have a business, they would like you to consider sponsorship or advertising. Both service buses have on-board LED display screens which could be bringing your message to passengers.

You can contact Bob the Bus at totnescommunitytransport@gmail.com.