WITH rural bus routes in and around Malmesbury potentially under threat, community transport links are going to be more important than ever.
That is why it is devastating to hear that the Cartmell Community Minibus, which provides residents of a number of care homes in north Wiltshire with transport for day trips, could be under threat.
The service has become financially unviable and, with it gone, care homes will have to look to much more expensive coach hire options.
This is horrible news to the groups that rely on this bus and it will have knock-on effects on the purse strings of those groups.
Extra money spent on coach hire means less money for day trips and less chance to get out and enjoy the area.
Wiltshire Council members have cited these community transport links as a natural replacement for bus rural bus services if they are cut, which is more than a little concerning.
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