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Home > Transport and Access > Project work - Linking communities Project Work of Linking Communities There has been a strong emphasis over the years on delivering projects, here are some details of the work Linking Communities is involved in.
Zbikes – Wheels to Work A very specific, ground level project is the Zbikes scheme which is part of the national Wheels to Work Scheme.
Without a vehicle of their own, some people, are unable to get to a job or training, and without a job or the skills to get a job, they cannot afford the means to get around….resulting in a vicious cycle in which there is often no way out.
No Vehicle - No training/No job – No skills/No money – No vehicle – No training/No job etc
Zbikes provides a short-term solution to break this cycle by giving people the opportunity to access transport of their own by means of loaning them the use of a moped at a very low cost.
A zbikes partnership (which includes ourselves, UDC, Rayner and Post 16) has now been in place since the projects inception and was able to secure start up funding through the Countryside Agency, Uttlesford District Council and in kind support from Essex County Council.
To date a great deal of young people have benefited from the scheme and at present there are 12 bikes in use in and around Uttlesford District.
The future of the scheme also looks positive as the zbikes partnership has recently secured on-going funding through the Post 16 Transport Partnership and hopes to develop it highly recommended training programme and take the scheme across the county.
Danbury Community Bus. This is a community-led response to problems faced by residents of Danbury and the surrounding villages in accessing health care and shopping.
Launched in 2001, with funding from Essex County Council and the Countryside Agency, the service is simply a group of volunteer drivers who use Community Transport vehicles to transport and escort eligible residents making essential journeys. A small charge covers the running costs of the vehicle plus a proportion of the administration costs.
It currently caters for over 240 trips per month, covering a wide variety of access needs such a doctors appointments, clinics, pensions clubs and escorted shopping trips. With the help of Linking Communities the scheme has kept overheads to a minimum and developed an extremely effective local fundraising strategy.
Dengie Consultation. Before solutions can be designed, a need must be identified and over the years we have built a reputation as being widely recognised for our ability to undertake rural transport and access surveys.
Working with community leaders, community groups and parish councils we have been able to provide ground level support, advice, guidance and facilitation skills to a number of small transport and access needs surveys.
More often that not the results are not surprising, however the information gathered is vital when applying for funding support or backing up arguments for saving rural services.
In addition to working at a very local level, our expertise has, in the past, been called into action for Essex County Council. As part a large scale investigation into transport on the Dengie Peninsular we facilitated a number a transport consultations across the area. The results of which have been used by the council in refining the priorities of rural transport on the peninsular
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