Over £350k awarded to South Antrim Community Transport

The successful bid for support for the charity’s new Community Wheels project will allow the staff to extend their work in addressing and reducing social isolation in the South Antrim area.

The new initiative is an extension of the Dial-a-life service it currently provides for people living in the area who have difficulty accessing local services due to a lack of transport.

The £352,525 grant covers a five-year period and will allow for travel between the hours of 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Travel will also be permitted outside the usual operational area which spans an area of approximately 440 square miles – from Toomebridge to Crumlin to Carnlough.

South Antrim Community Transport currently has 457 members who will all have access to the new service.

Sixty-seven per cent of journeys its drivers provided last year were for elderly passengers and 40 per cent of its users had a disability.

The charity’s manager Tom McCarthy said: “I would like to thank the National Lottery Community Fund for awarding this grant.

“The funding is vital to the rural community to allow them to continue to access services and retain their independence. We envisage that travel to hospital appointments will be a major part of what the users will request. 

“This funding will make a real difference to many people’s lives over the next five years.

“We would also like to thank the National Lottery players without whom this grant would not be possible.”

South Antrim Community Transport is managed by a volunteer board of directors and has nine paid staff, 17 volunteer drivers and a volunteer in the office.

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