TIMEtogether
Helpline Mon-Fri 10-3
01484 860077
VOLUNTEER CAR SERVICE
01484 860077
vcs@ddc.org.uk
The Volunteer Car Service operates for individual residents of Kirklees.
This service has been supported by the Government (Dept of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) and the National Lottery, One Community and Kirklees Council however now has no funding; any donations or contributions are most welcome to cover our costs.
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Purpose:
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To connect people with others
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To overcome transport barriers
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To reduce loneliness and isolation
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What we do:
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Volunteers drive their own car to help others
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Passenger pays the volunteers expenses
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Drivers are caring about other people
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Reasonable wait time at destination
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Project Type:
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Communty Transport
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One to One support
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The service users, or passengers, of this service would be individuals who are generally:
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Isolated
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Lonely
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In ill health
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In poor mental health
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Victims of crime
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Disabled/Low mobility
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Have existing transport barriers
...and living in Kirklees.
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This service is not available to community groups.
How does it work...?
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Step ONE - become a member of the Denby Dale Centre
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Step TWO - call us on 01484 860077 or book online (below) with your trip details, giving 5 working days notice
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Step THREE - we then find you a volunteer, hopefully, but not guaranteed
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Step FOUR - we call you back with driver name and vehicle details
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Step FIVE - your driver will pick you up for your trip
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Trip details would include pick up address, time and date, plus destination address and any further details to make life easy.
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From 1st April 2024, you will be charged £2.00 per booking, charged at the end of the month. We will call you.
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PLEASE NOTE:
This is NOT a taxi service. This should NOT replace using a taxi service, in fact it is intended that our members with lower confidence will grow their confidence to start using existing taxi services. Please do not call this service a taxi service because it is nothing like a taxi service, in fact it is closer to a befriending service.
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Members could use the service for the following and more reasons:
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Shopping
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Hospital visiting
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Health appointments
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Social groups
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Visiting friends and family
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If you anticipate to have luggage, you must register this at the point of booking as this may affect the driver we can use due to safe luggage storage areas of cars.
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Please note that we cannot transport wheelchairs with this service, however we do have accessible minibuses to help if you use a wheelchair.
TEAM DDC
All our staff undergo regular training, and in addition to our Basic Training which includes Health & Safety, Safeguarding and Covid Awareness, our people will have specific training to their roles.
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All Staff
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All of our training courses are fun and engaging. We have presented a range of learning platforms that include: classroom, online, videos and booklets. We have optional additional training available for volunteers and employed, to boost their CV adn prepare them for other work.
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Volunteer Drivers
We welcome new drivers and although have a good team, we need more drivers as this service continues to grow. Please visit our volunteer page to register.
What does it cost...?
Each user is required to be a member, which costs £15.00 per year, renewing in April every year. Members have access to all other services operated by the Denby Dale Centre.
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The drivers are volunteers and will claim travel expenses from their home and back to their home which is what we charge you. This means that for the same journey, two drivers may charge you different amounts because they live different distances from your home.
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The mileage cost of 45p per mile is for our admin and their expenses, and this covers fuel, insurance and wear and tear of their vehicle.
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We take payment before your trip when we have confirmed the driver. You can pay either over the phone with one of our call handlers using your bank card or alternatively register for direct debit payments.
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If you extend your trip on the day, and the driver has authorised it and claims additonal expenses, we will contact you after the trip for payment of the balance.
If you cancel the trip, we will refund the trip fee less £5 up to the end of the office day before your trip.
CHARGES
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Membership £15 per year
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Booking £2.00 per day
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Mileage Charge 45p per mile
(from volunteer's home, back to volunteers's home)
Passenger Rules
Transportation using the Volunteer Car Service is for people who identify as one of these situations:
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Need help to connecting with others
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Have no other forms of suitable transport available to you
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Behaviour
RULE 1
Be polite and respectful to all other passengers, staff and volunteers
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RULE 2
Members should not attend under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any other forms of substances that impair judgement
RULE 3
Abuse (verbal or physical) of people and abuse of the service will not be tolerated, and will trigger and immediate suspension from membership
Booking
​RULE 4
You must be a fully paid and registered member of the charity, with full annual registration document completed
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RULE 5
Provide a minimum of 5 working days’ notice of requests for transport and including all details including additional passengers, children, pets, luggage, etc
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RULE 6
Altering the details of your trip can only be made via the office staff, in advance, and confirmed from driver via office to the passenger.
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RULE 7
Passengers are liable for any parking, tolls or other forms of additional cost
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RULE 8
Passengers are liable for any damage they cause to a vehicle including incontinence, luggage, illness or other causes of damage that needs to be rectified by the driver
RULE 9
Payments should be made within 7 days (including membership, booking fee, trip, etc)
RULE 10
Passengers must not make bookings or alter bookings direct with a driver – all communications need to be processed via the office team
Respecting Volunteers
RULE 11
Volunteers have the right to refuse:
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…entry to their vehicle
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…to transport an individual (with reasonable reason)
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…accepting a booking request
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…requests to transport pets
RULE 12
Passengers should pay the Volunteer expenses by the end of the trip direct to the driver (or within 7 days to the office if pre-arranged due to disability, ie blindness)
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RULE 13
This service is a volunteer car service. It is NOT a taxi service and does not try to be one. Do not refer to it as a taxi service. We help people to build confidence to use local taxi companies. All bookings are only possible by volunteers kindly offering to help those in need and no booking is guaranteed.
