The town of Fairlie should have access to a community van by the end of the year.

A fundraising effort was launched in January after Environment Canterbury canned the Twizel to Timaru bus service that ran every Friday. However, Fairlie Community Vehicle Trust member Kevin O'Neill said it had raised more than $25,000.

"We got some recent donations from Aoraki Foundation, the Mid-South Canterbury Trust and ECan," he said.

"Considering the current economic environment, we're really lucky that we're able to have access to that level of funding."

Mr O'Neill said although the trust owned a community car, demand from sports teams and older people in the area meant it needed something bigger.

"The car can only hold about two to four passengers at any given time. If we had a van, we would be able to take a dozen or so," Mr O'Neill said.

"It will help a lot of sports teams who need to make the trip to Timaru, or older people who need to make their hospital appointments."

Mr O'Neill said the nearby Mackenzie College was taking an interest in the trust's progress.

"The school is in the process of replacing its old bus, so obviously anything we can do to assist them in transport would be a bonus," he said.

Although there were still contracts to be signed off, Mr O'Neill hoped the trust would be able to purchase the 12-seater before the end of the year. "Once it gets up and running, it will be a bookable, on-call service, rather than running at set times," he said.

A similar service began in Twizel earlier this year, while Waimate and Geraldine also run community vehicle services.

- © Fairfax NZ News

Comments