A community car service provides an essential lifeline for the elderly and disabled. Run purely by volunteers throughout the UK they offer a more affordable alternative to taxis when someone needs to attend local hospitals, health centres, dentists, opticians, chiropodists, physiotherapists and other venues where care and treatment is provided.
In some instances you can use the service to visit a friend or relative in in a hospital or care home.
The volunteer drivers are caring helpful people who donate their time and use of their car to provide this much needed service.
If you care for someone who needs to attend appointments and for whom public transport is a difficult option then it will be useful to see if there is a community care service in your area.
In some cases the community car services have been helped and are subsidised by either lottery funding or grants from local councils.
The cost of the fare can in some cases be claimed back if the user is in receipt of certain benefits such as Pension Credit or income support.
It is advisable to book your community car the day the appointment is received as in some areas the service is heavily used
