This article is from page 32 of the 2009-08-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
AFTER a long road, the Feakle- based Clare Accessible Transport (CAT) service has revved up and moved to their new base.
The new state-of-the art building is on the site of the old creamery and the CAT are delighted with the move.
“We were very glad to have the premises in the main street in Feakle to get started but we’ve outgrown it.” said CAT’s Laura Ward. “The new premises is fully accessible for peo- ple with a disability; we have a com- munity meeting room and training centre and we can now develop our IT and communications systems, as broadband has arrived in Feakle, just when we made the move.”
And now that broadband is avail- able to the service, they are develop- ing their website to give out infor- mation about CAT and make route planning easier for clients.
‘Just log on to catconnects.ie and search you town or village to see what routes are going your way.”
The service – which has charitable status and is funded by the Rural Transport Programme, the HSE and the Community Service Programme – now has 3,500 who also support it with the fares they pay.
They are making 3,000 passenger trips a month all across Clare, and now cater for a broader range of people than ever.
30 per cent of our passengers are under 25 years of age and we cater for tourists as well,” said Laura. ““We get emails from Japan and Italy, lots of places, booking trips. We want to support tourism through sustainable transport.”
On the road for seven years, CAT provides flexible transport for any- one who wishes to join. The service is free to travel pass holders and 1s reduced for under 16’s.
There are also ‘fare zones’ depend- ing on how long a journey is and the fares vary accordingly.
Now employing 21 people, full- and part-time, the service has expanded
into the MIDAS – Mini Bus Driv- ers Awareness Scheme – training for community drivers.
“It’s a mobile service which teach- es best practice and safety for people who drive groups,’ said Laura.
Becoming a member of CAT is easy and not expensive.
“You can email Clare Accessible Transport at ourbus@catconnects.ie,
call on 061 924375 or low call 1890 687287 or just turn up at Dunnes Stores and get a membership form from the driver,” said Laura. All CAT buses are wheelchair accessible.