What is a community car scheme?
Community Car Schemes are voluntary schemes run by local groups. Volunteer drivers use their own cars to offer a taxi-style, door-to-door service for residents who do not have access to other transport.
Community car schemes are a not for profit organisation, usually run by volunteers, that operates a form of car sharing. Volunteer drivers are using their own car and being reimbursed expenses to operate the service. Car schemes will offer travel to essential services such as health appointments, accessing work, shopping or even visiting friends. Some schemes even offer further services such as prescription pick-ups or non-transport related services such as befriending.
All car schemes have a coordinator who takes journey bookings and matches them to available drivers, who will then provide a door-to-door service for the customer. Any potential passengers must first become a member of the scheme before they can use the service. They will then be charged a fare each time they travel, to cover the cost of the journey (driver’s expenses) plus any additional costs such as parking. Fares can also include a nominal booking fee to help cover the administration of the scheme (e.g. mobile phone or printing costs).
Car schemes in your area
To find out more about community car schemes operating in your area, please click the link below which will direct you to a different website and the car scheme directory, or use the interactive map on this website.
Getting Involved
These schemes are always on the lookout for new volunteers who want to make a difference in their community.
For those interested in setting up a new Community Car Scheme in their area, Somerset Council have put together a useful toolkit to help you get started. Details can be found here.
