Community Transport South Wiltshire is a charity set up to provide transport solutions to those in need who would otherwise find it difficult to get out and about. The information you give us will be added to our database and will be treated as strictly confidential. The registration form may be completed by yourself or by a person on your behalf. CTSW is registered under the Data Protection Act 1988.
Membership – Car Scheme service
The principle of membership continues to be very important to us as it allows and encourages users of the service to have a say in the charity’s policies. However the membership for car users only will be voluntary, being a member attracts a reduced mileage rate than that for non-members. Regular users paying a membership fee would find this option more financially worthwhile.
The non-member option means the availability of the service is widened within the community to help those who have a short-term need for transport or who are unable or not prepared to pay the upfront costs without trying the service first, and prepared to pay the higher travel charge accordingly.
Membership is renewed annually, please note that membership fees are non-refundable. However, should you have an account for the Car Scheme, any unused balance on your account will be refunded once all outstanding journey mileage administrative costs have been deducted.
Membership – Minibus Shopper service
Only users of the Minibus Shopper services will be required to pay the membership fee and thereafter renewed annually, there are no additional fees. (We will require your ‘Concessionary Bus Pass’ details).
Booking car journeys
To book a car journey you simply need to phone us using the car service number 01722 410123. There will normally be someone available to answer your call between 9am and 1pm, Monday to Friday. If we are busy or outside these times, you will be able to leave a message. We ask that you give as much advance notice as possible. At least 7 days’ notice is preferred, though we will try to accommodate short notice requests wherever possible, please just ask.
Our service is delivered by volunteer drivers using their own vehicles. There may be times when we are unable to offer you the journey you ask for due to driver resources. We will do our utmost to honour all booked journeys, but we reserve the right to cancel a journey if for any reason circumstances change and we have no driver available.
Cancelling a booked car journey
If you book a journey and then find that you no longer need it, we ask that you telephone and let us know. A cancellation fee may be charged at our discretion unless reasonable notice has been provided.
If a driver calls to collect you and you have not informed us that you did not require the booking, we will charge your account for the journey booked.
Car journey costs
Journey costs from the 17 February 2025 are based on the miles travelled, i.e. from your door (or designated pick up point) to your destination.
Members’ rate: £3.50 for the first 3 miles, then £1.20 per mile beyond that
Non-members: £4.50 for the first 3 miles, then £1.20 per mile beyond that
Payment for the Car Service
Car journeys are charged to your account. No money is required when you make a journey – instead we ask that you make a contribution to your account in advance at the time of registering with us (see ‘Registration Fees & Payments’ on the registration form). This money will be held in your account and we will draw from it as you make journeys.
When the balance of your account is low we will send you a statement. It will show you all the journeys you have made and the charges incurred. We will suggest an amount to send us to top up your account for future journeys.
The £35 (single user) or £45 (joint user) ‘Advanced Car Credit Payment’ shown in the table of fees on the registration form is a recommended amount. It should be suitable to pay for two or three months’ journeys for a typical member. However, you may pay more or less than this amount if you prefer.
By becoming a member to use the Car Service, at no extra cost you are eligible to join our Shopper Bus services, however this will depend on bus capacity. For further information please call the office.
Assistance from drivers
Drivers will be happy to help you with shopping bags etc and lend an arm for assistance. To use our car services you must be reasonably able to get in and out of the vehicle – our drivers are happy to help you if asked. Please be aware that this may involve physical contact, however this should always be only with your agreement.
If you are a wheelchair user and wish to use our car service, then you must be able to transfer from the wheelchair into a car seat.
The Shopper Bus Services
CTSW operate a variety of scheduled Shopper’ minibus routes within Salisbury and surrounding rural areas. Some routes are weekly and others are fortnightly. Bus services are personalised, we collect you from your home and assist with getting on and off the bus. On return drivers will help you load your shopping before taking you back to your home. (For wheelchair users, buses have either lifts or ramps to access our buses). All members are eligible for the Shopper Bus services, however, this will be subject to available capacity. Where a service is at capacity, we operate a waiting list.
Should a member not use the service for over six weeks, we reserve the right to offer the service to potential new members on a waiting list. If you wish to reuse the service we will endeavor to reinstate you subject to passenger capacity.
Statements of account
Once your account is up and running everything will tick along automatically. For the car service we will send you a statement whenever your account balance falls to a low level. You will be invited to top up your account to cover the cost of future car journeys. It will suggest a contribution amount (based on past journeys), YOU decide how much to send us. Membership will be deducted annually.
If you only use a bus service, you will receive a statement at least once a year to show the deduction of membership annual renewal.
All members should receive a statement at least once a year, regardless of the account balance.