£5,000 GRANTS MARK CONTINUATION OF PARISH COUNCIL’S SUPPORT OF FYTBUS

A community grant of £5,000 has been handed over to FYTbus by Freshwater Parish Council, continuing the council’s support of the vital local service. FYTbus was founded to fill a gap in local transport left by the withdrawal of some Southern Vectis local services in the West Wight back in 2008/9. It now runs a fleet of 4 minibuses and a wheelchair-adapted people carrier vehicle for less-abled passengers with medical and other needs. Recently, 1 of the minibuses has been replaced with an electric version in a bid for a greener future, with hopes of a 2nd electric minibus by the end of this financial year. To power these a photovoltaic array is being installed at the Thorley depot, which will greatly decrease the running costs of the busses. FYTbus is a registered charity and not-for-profit company. Their purpose is to improve access to local health (GP surgery, clinic and St Mary’s Hospital), social, retail and leisure amenities for the residents of and visitors to West Wight. In so doing, they also support the local businesses – shops, hotels, guest houses and leisure centres. It is run by volunteers and all the drivers are trained to National MiDAS standards. The scheduled routes and excursions run with a passenger assistant who is there to help passengers if they need it. The FYTbus is financially self-sufficient with no revenue support from local councils. They bid for capital funding to replace/renew the minibus fleet and improvements to their Thorley Depot and are grateful for the support given by Freshwater Parish Council. A new service available on weekday afternoons is their Flex-E Service which you can book via telephone 01983 752917, the website www.fytbus.org.uk or via an App ‘FYT and SCIA booking’ available through the app store. No need to wait at bus stops, you book the bus, and it comes to you, anywhere in the West Wight.