Scarborough Dial a Ride volunteer driver, Jonathan K, shares his passion for getting behind the wheel and providing a real life line for communities:

Over the last 40 years, I was fortunate to have had a busy and enjoyable international career in catering and hospitality, which had taken me and my family to several exciting places around the world. Retirement eventually beckoned and we resettled in Scarborough, where years before my wife had been a pupil at the Scarborough Convent and her father was a bursar at Scarborough College – it was a familiar and attractive place.

I soon realised I couldn’t sit still and I wanted to find something worthwhile to keep me busy. A feature in the local paper about the exploits of Scarborough Dial a Ride, and their need for more volunteers seemed to be worth exploring further. A little over 10 years ago, I drove my first Dial a Ride bus, met my fellow staff and volunteers, and picked up my first passenger. I feel I couldn’t have chosen a better cause, or found a better use of my time.

It is evident that the service provided by Dial a Ride is a real life line to many of our passengers – be it a trip to the shops, meeting for a coffee with friends, or attending a long awaited hospital appointment – the service is secure, reliable, economical and very importantly, friendly…for many passengers, the trip out with a Dial a Ride team can be their main social interaction of the week. It’s not just a community transport service, it’s also an informal welfare and support service, much welcomed by many of our users. From my point of view the satisfaction I get from being involved is instant: our customers are rarely slow to provide opinions about our services!!

In addition to the pleasure I get from providing a service which is much needed and appreciated by customers, there is also the enjoyment and fun I get from working with the Dial a Ride staff and other volunteers. We are a very mixed bunch of folk, and the banter and opinions exchanged in the crew room adds another welcome dimension to the voluntary day.

I try to drive for Dial a Ride one day a week, and I can safely say that generally it’s the most satisfying day I have each week, and the rest of the week is pretty good too! Like any business supported heavily by volunteers, Dial a Ride needs more volunteers, so we can continue to provide these much needed services to a growing group of
passengers. If you’re considering finding a voluntary role, give it a try – it’s truly rewarding, and the feedback is instant.

Scarborough Dial A Ride provides fully accessible, affordable, door to door transport for anyone over the age of 60, or those of any age with some form of disability, living
within our 10 mile service area.

Starting in 1983 with one old, second hand minibus, we have extensively developed our services in the area with a modern fleet of fully accessible, specialised vehicles.
We now help hundreds of people each year maintain their independence by providing reliable and caring transport to go shopping, visit friends or relatives, go to
church, day centres, restaurants and leisure pursuits, as well as health related appointments.

Our spacious minibuses are fitted with lifts as well as low steps and grab rails for ease of boarding. For longer journeys, our MPV cars are wheelchair accessible and
provide safe and comfortable transport.

For more information and an informal chat about volunteering, please contact us on 01723 354434 between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday-Friday.