Election day is one of many days which are now a whole lot easier for Rose ‘Lyle’ Wellington thanks to the expanded Kenilworth Community Transport Service.
The Belli Park resident is one of many from neighbouring Kenilworth localities who recently gained access to the service, after council supported an expansion of its catchment area.
“Life has gotten so much easier for my husband and I since we were able to use this service,” Lyle said.
“I’m 86 and my husband is 90 and we love the convenience of being able to book this service to come and pick us up from home and take us to where we need to get to. We are very grateful to the drivers who are giving their time for this service.
“I was delighted when I heard we could use this service because we’d just returned home from voting in Nambour for the State Election and we were absolutely exhausted after driving ourselves there.”
Lyle isn’t the only resident who has jumped aboard the expanded Kenilworth Community Transport Service. The number of registered users increased by 40 during over the past month and passenger numbers are steadily increasing.
The Kenilworth Community Transport Service began operating in June 2019 and was previously only available to residents living within a 6.5km radius of the Kenilworth Post Office and provided transport to Nambour, Maleny, Mapleton, Eumundi and Yandina for a flat $8 fee one-way or return.
At the request of the community, a submission was put to council to broaden the catchment area of the service to include Belli Park, Cambroon, Conondale, Coolabine, Eerwah Vale, Gheerulla, Kidaman Creek and Obi Obi as well as including trips to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Division 10 Councillor David Law said he was thrilled to see the expansion of the service making a real difference to the lives of local residents.
“By broadening the catchment area of the Kenilworth Community Transport Service, council has enabled the total number of properties who can utilise this service to increase by more than 1000 – from 616 to 1676. Guests of registered users can now also access the service,” Cr Law said.
“Hearing about the difference this has made to people like Lyle and others is absolutely wonderful.
“Another new passenger is a Gheerulla resident who lives some kilometres off the Eumundi Kenilworth Road.
“He is no longer able to drive and was previously walking and hitchhiking the 11km to Kenilworth and back, often with bags of groceries on his return trip. He also experienced great difficulty in getting to Nambour for medical appointments.
“This gentleman utilised the Kenilworth Community Transport Service for the first time recently and the fact that he can now travel in an air conditioned car is fantastic.”
The addition of trips to Sunshine Coast University Hospital will also provide residents in these communities with reliable transport to specialist medical services for $25 per person, one-way or return.
The Kenilworth Community Transport Service is run by volunteers, under the leadership of a Sub-Committee of the Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce.
The Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce holds the Operator Accreditation for the service with the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Council supplies a fully insured seven-seat passenger vehicle and an allocation for the community to provide the service with volunteer drivers.
Volunteers are critical to the success of the service, and driving is not onerous. If you have a little spare time on your hands, and would like to support this valuable service by becoming a driver, please contact the Committee by emailing kctskworth@gmail.com.
For more information about the service visit council’s website and search “Kenilworth Community Transport Service.
