Northants community bus service triples number of journeys

Wendy Claesens, 80, pictured with Barbara Shepley, 80, said "you get used to being driven - it's lovely"

A community bus service has seen the number of its passenger journeys more than triple in three years.

Ability said it provided 29,500 trips around West Northamptonshire in 2023, up from 8,000 in 2021.

The service was started by a couple who wanted to do something about routes being cut and now has 10 vehicles serving 64 parishes.

One passenger described it as a "lifesaver" as it enables her to visit her husband in his care home.

Lynn Hinch founded Ability with her husband Nigel and raised funds to buy its first minibus

In 2018, Lynn and Nigel Hinch raised some money, bought a minibus, and started Ability, with Mr Hinch acting as driver and Ms Hinch taking bookings.

Ms Hinch said they saw "a huge gap in the market".

"Having had corporate jobs all our lives, we wanted to do something for the community," she said.

Ability has gone from one minibus to 10 since 2019

The service has a team of paid and volunteer drivers linking people in villages with nearby towns for shopping and socialising.

Travel on the minibus is free for people who hold a bus pass, and annual memberships are available with benefits such as being dropped off at home and priority bookings.

Malcolm Beaton became an Ability driver after he retired and needed something to do

Malcolm Beaton, 61, became a driver for Ability after he retired. He said: "What we're starting to see is people using us because it's very expensive nowadays to run your own car, so it's much more affordable to use community transport."

Mavis Richardson, a regular passenger aged 87, started using the Ability bus when her husband went into a care home in Daventry.

She said: "It's a lifesaver for me and I was able to visit my husband twice a week on the shopping bus."

Mavis Richardson was able to see her husband in his care home thanks to the Ability bus

David Long started using the Ability service after local bus routes were cut

David Long, 83, was one of the earliest users of the service and said: "When all the bus services started getting trimmed, it became almost impossible for people like myself [to get out] - I suffer from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)."

He said his fellow passengers have "become a bit of a family - we all chat to each other".

Wendy Claesens, 80, goes to Banbury every week on an Ability minibus and said "you get used to being driven and it's lovely".

The Ability service is likely to grow over the next two years following the award of a £650,000 Motability grant, aimed at improving transport for people with disabilities.