A COMMUNITY service offering transportation for vulnerable people has reopened.

Dial-A-Ride Winchester, run by Community First, a transport initiative which picks up and drops off residents at their front door, has begun picking up passengers during its phased return.

Destinations include Winchester city centre, Tesco Winnall or Sainsbury's in Badger Farm, and while the schedule will have some flexibility each week, trips will take place between the hours of 8.45am and 4.30pm.

For the first stage of reopening, the service has had to make some changes to meet current coronavirus guidelines. Regular passengers may not be able to travel as they used to because there will be reduced capacity and fewer destinations.

Dial-A-Ride vehicles are deep cleaned on a twice daily basis while PPE is available on all buses, including face coverings and hand sanitiser.

Lynne Peters, Community First’s transport manager for North areas, said “We are pleased to be able to begin reopening Dial-A-Ride Winchester after a careful review of all the required safety measures. On behalf of the Winchester team, we are looking forward to seeing our passengers again over the coming weeks.”

To make a booking, please call the Dial-A-Ride team on 01962 852602 with at least six days’ notice of your journey. The office is staffed Monday to Friday between 8am to 5pm.