Farnham’s popular dial-a-ride community transport service has received a financial boost of £10,000 from Farnham Town Council.
The Council first provided the hoppa service with £10,000 in 2015. The community grant enabled hoppa to increase the running of its second Farnham bus from two days a week to five. Farnham Town Council’s ongoing support means the service can continue to run unchanged during 2016/17.
Councillor John Ward, Leader of the Council says: “hoppa’s dial-a-ride service is very popular with Farnham residents. Within the first eight months of us funding the expanded service, hoppa recorded 1,400 passenger journeys. Without the service, many people would lose their independence. Instead of being able to make a weekly trip to the shops or having the means to attend routine medical appointments, they would find themselves reliant on other people or more costly means of transport.”
Farnham Town Council is also looking to the longer term future of hoppa and has launched an appeal to buy a new bus for Farnham passengers. To ensure the buses remain reliable and comfortable, hoppa aims to replace its buses on a cyclical basis.
Councillor John Ward adds: “At some point in the not too distant future both of Farnham’s hoppa buses will need to be replaced. To assist with the purchase of a new bus, we have awarded hoppa with a second grant worth £5,000. In addition, we have promised up to a further £5,000 to match additional funding that can be secured from other Farnham organisations. We are also grateful to Councillor Mrs Pat Frost who has already pledged £3,000 from her County Councillor allowance and the Farnham Institute charity which has made a grant of £2,500. We would love to hear from any other companies in Farnham that would like to support this worthwhile local service.”
It will cost over £30,000 to buy a new bus. Any business that is able to contribute towards the new bus will be invited to have their logo included on the outside of the bus.
For further information or to make a donation, please contact Iain Lynch, Farnham Town Clerk at town.clerk@farnham.gov.uk or call 01252 712667.
