Haslemere Town Council has awarded a grant of £7,500 to Waverley hoppa Community Transport to help maintain and strengthen essential community transport services for residents.

Every month hundreds of people use hoppa Shoppa to take them to the shops, leisure activities and other important journeys. The service is often described by customers as a ‘lifeline’ and with groups of friends regularly travelling from the area’s retirement homes, it also serves as a way for older people to socialise and be active members of the community. hoppa Shoppa is so popular that a second bus now runs on a Thursday to accommodate travel requests.

The Mayor of Haslemere, Councillor Jacquie Keen says: “Waverley hoppa is a fantastic service that offers local people the opportunity to get out and about. At £3 for a single fare, the rates are reasonable. Without the service, many older and vulnerable residents would be isolated at home.

“Haslemere Town Council is happy to support hoppa with a grant of £7,500. We are lucky to have hoppa Shoppa and Hospital hoppa because there are a lot of elderly people who do not have relatives or friends that they can depend on to take them shopping or to hospital appointments.”

As well as seeing an increase in the popularity of hoppa Shoppa, the charity has also seen a steady and rising number of requests for its Hospital hoppa service. The door-to-door, wheelchair accessible service helps local people travel to and from vital hospital appointments at the Royal Surrey, Haslemere Hospital and Milford Hospital, and takes away the worry of parking or travelling by other more expensive methods of transport.

hoppa has been running Hospital hoppa for Haslemere since 2005 but rising operational costs, increased demand, and ongoing funding pressures have recently led it to launch a fundraising campaign to help secure the future of the service. The aim is to raise £40,000 so that vulnerable residents can continue to access vital medical care.

Richard Davies, General Manager at Waverley hoppa says: “We are extremely grateful to Haslemere Town Council for its generous grant. The council’s ongoing support has provided a much-needed funding boost, particularly for our Hospital hoppa service. Although the grant will certainly go some way towards helping us continue to provide safe, reliable, accessible transport to those who need it most, we continue to seek additional sources of funding so we can meet the transport needs of the community.”

hoppa welcomes support from organisations, businesses, community groups and individuals that can help fund the future of accessible transport for local residents. Contributions can be made via hoppa’s Just Giving page which can be accessed at www.hoppa.org.uk/hospital-hoppa-fundraising/ or by getting in touch with Richard Davies at hoppa.