Gillingham Car Link Scheme

Getting the people of Gillingham Out and About

We are a charity set up to provide transport to enable the people of Gillingham and surrounding villages to get to all the medical facilities available for them.

Although Gillingham has a railway station, it is not well served with transport links to outlying villages or to the main hospitals. With changes in the health service and further cutting of funding for transport, more people are finding themselves isolated. This really matters when you need to get to a medical appointment.
Gillingham Car Link provides transport to enable people who live in the SP8 area to get to their medical appointments whether it be hospital, doctor, optician, dentist, physiotherapy, GP referral or exercise class.
Our volunteer drivers use their own cars to take people where they need to go.

How it Started...

When the Hospital car service was scrapped, the people of Gillingham without a car faced either a whole day of travelling to get to and from the hospital or a £70 each way taxi ride.

Gillingham Car Link was formed to meet this need.

We have a number of volunteer drivers who use their own cars to take people where they need to go. All our drivers are DBS checked. They receive expenses to cover the running costs of their cars. Our coordinators are compensated for the use of their telephone, but everyone gives their time freely.

Gillingham Car Link became a registered charity a number of years ago. This means that you can be sure that your donations are being used for the benefit of the community. All our drivers and officers are volunteers.

As an organisation Car Link endeavours to be as transparent as possible. Our Annual General Meeting is open to the public.

Read about some of our volunteers

MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS ONLY Please note we only provide transport for medical appointments.

How it Works...

The whole thing starts with your request for transport.

Make a call to 07599 311443 and leave a message containing your name and phone number.

On a mobile? Simply click the button below;

When they pick up the call the coordinator will call you and take down the full details of the journey. This is the time to tell them of any particular needs that you have.
The coordinator will then ring around the drivers until they find one that can do the job. Once your journey has been allocated to a driver, the coordinator will ring you to give you the name of the driver and to confirm the pick-up time
They will also tell you the suggested donation for the journey. All donations are voluntary. The suggested donation is a guide. It tells you how much it costs Car Link to provide your transport.

Your Journey...

The driver should arrive at the appointed time. He or she will have a photo identity badge. Please ask to see it so that you can confirm that he/she is one of our drivers. Once you are seated comfortably and have buckled your seat belt the driver will take you to your destination.
If you are claiming your travelling expenses back it is best to mention this on the outward journey.
When you arrive at your destination you should arrange a meeting place with your driver. The driver expects to wait for up to two hours. If you know that you will need more than that you should book two trips.
When you are ready to return, meet your driver at the agreed place and he will fetch the car to take you home. The driver will hand you an envelope for your donation. The driver cannot give you change so have the amount you wish to donate ready. Seal up the envelope with your donation in it and hand it to your driver.
If you need to book another journey you will have to go through the procedure again. You cannot book another journey with your driver.

TestimonialS

What users of the service have been saying...

Bethany Faulkner

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Nikodem Rollins