Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois, who is also the President of Wyvern Community Transport, has given his backing to an attempt by Wyvern to establish a new volunteer bus route running from Great Wakering, via Rochford into Rayleigh mid week.
Wyvern Community Transport, who are headquartered in Rochford, currently operates six minibuses which they use to help ferry people who otherwise may have difficulty accessing public transport, around South Essex. Wyvern undertake tasks such as taking senior citizens to day centres, assisting people in shopping trips and also taking customers to and from medical appointments.
The group already operate a number of regular routes in the Rochford and Castle Point area and they are seeking to establish a new route which would run from Rochford, via Ashingdon, through Hockley (including the Dome Caravan Park) and into Rayleigh itself. Wyvern have written to a number of Parish Councils along the route to seek their support for this initiative, and Mark, having declared his interest as their President, has also backed this new initiative to provide extra transport options for his constituents.
Commenting on the bid by Wyvern to establish this new route, Mark Francois MP said:
“I am proud to be the President of Wyvern Community Transport as they play a very valuable role in helping to deliver mobility to many of my constituents, particularly those senior citizens who have difficulty in accessing public transport. Wyvern would partly be dependent on Essex County Council for obtaining funding to operate this new route, but along with a number of the Parish Councils concerned, I am very keen to back this bid as I believe it could provide a valuable additional service, not least in helping to access the Dome Caravan Park in Hockley from which I have had a number of representations about the lack of access to public transport. I believe Wyvern do a good job and I very much hope that Essex County Council will look positively on this proposal to help get this new service up and running in the next few months.”