Transport
Getting to and from appointments can sometimes be difficult especially in a large rural county like Lincolnshire. We have services in place to assist you with your transport needs.
Blue Badge
If you are struggling with your mobility, you may be elidable for a Blue Badge. This badge allows you use parking areas closer to hospitals, supermarkets, and towns.
Parking
Blue Badge holders are eligible for free parking at Lincoln, Pilgrim, and Grantham Hospital.
Non-Blue Badge holders are also eligible for free parking at these three hospital sites, throughout a cancer diagnosis. These individuals are asked to speak with their clinic or ward team upon arrival.
Paying for Transport
Individuals on low income, receiving benefits or not in employment may be able to claim support for hospital transport costs. This applies to all forms of transport, including Voluntary Car Schemes.
Volunteer Car Schemes
Voluntary car schemes across Lincolnshire and are run by Parish Councils, Patient Participation Groups, GP surgeries and Voluntary led schemes. They offer transport for journeys such as medical, health appointments, shopping, and social needs.
Each scheme has their own volunteers who have all been DBS checked, undergone online training for Safeguarding and have badges issued by Lincolnshire County Council.
Louth and District Voluntary Car Scheme
The Louth Voluntary Car Scheme provide transport to all who require transport. This can include transport to medical and non-medical appointments, shopping, or socialising.
Eligibility: Anyone in Louth or surround towns and villages including Horncastle, Alford, and Timberland (further away areas can be discussed via phone).
Coverage: Anywhere in the UK, if drivers are available.
Registration: No fee.
Cost: 45p per mile.
Contact: 01507 811132
Sutton on Sea Voluntary Car Scheme
The service aims to provide transport for individuals to doctors, Dentist, Chiropodist, and hospital appointments, to collect prescriptions, or visit any other medical or therapeutic service/appointment.
Eligibility: Sutton on Sea residents
Coverage: Sutton on Sea and surrounding villages.
Registration fee: No fee.
Cost: 50p per mile
- Two hours free waiting time for medical appointments
Contact: 01507 442502 or 01507 441934
- Booking is open: Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm.
- Transport is available 365 days a year and 24 hours a day
Boston Voluntary Car Scheme
Boston Community Transport offer a friendly and reliable door to door car service, seven days a week for anyone without personal transport. The volunteer drivers can take individuals to hospital appointments, inside and outside of the county, doctors, dentists, hairdresser appointments, to go shopping or to see friends.
Eligibility: All residents living in Boston Borough (Boston Town, Wyberton, Butterwick, Kirton-in Holland, Langrick Bridge, Sutterton, Swineshead, Old Leake, Fosdyke, Kirton Holme and Hubberts Bridge).
Coverage: Transporting to anywhere in England.
Registration fee: £12 per year.
Cost: For each trip we charge 60p per mile starting and finishing at the volunteer drivers house to cover their expenses. Minimum charge £5.
Drivers will wait for service users travelling long distances and aim for no additional charge; however, this timeframe and availability must be discussed with the scheme.
Contact: 01205 360183 (Monday to Friday 9am-12noon) or email: admin
South Holland Parish Voluntary Car Scheme
The voluntary car scheme has a small team of volunteer drivers who will take villagers to and from medical appointments for a nominal charge. This is a service for those who do not drive and cannot use public transport.
Eligibility: Moulton EauGate, Moulton Chapel, Moulton, Moulton Seasend, Moulton Marsh, Holbeach and Fleet.
Coverage: GP practices within the local towns and villages. Hospital appointment transport in and out of county should be discussed with service.
Registration: no registration fee
Cost: 35p per mile, with a minimum cost of £4 per journey.
- No waiting charge will be included
Contact: 01775 719290 or 01775 630144
Spalding and Cowbit Voluntary Car Scheme
The voluntary car scheme has a small team of volunteer drivers who will take villagers to and from medical appointments for a nominal charge. This is a service for those who do not drive and cannot use public transport.
Eligibility: Resident of Spalding, Crowland, Holbeach, Long Sutton, Gedney, Sutton St James, Lutton, Pinchbeck, Sutton Bridge, Cowbitt, Moutlon, Weston and Whaplode.
Coverage: Local and out of area transport including Leicester and Nottingham.
Registration: No fee
Cost: 50p per mile
- Drivers will wait up to two hours, without additional charge
Contact: 01775 766085
Market Deeping and Glinton Car Scheme
This car scheme offers transport for residents registered at the Deepings Practice, to attend medical appointments.
Eligibility: Registered with Deepings Medical Practice and unable to use public transport.
Coverage: Market Deeping, Glinton, and surrounding villages. Transport to hospitals including
Peterborough is possible but must be discussed with the scheme.
Registration: No fee.
Cost: 8 miles or less £4 and over 8 miles 50p per mile.
Contact: 07858 373912
Crowland Cares
The scheme offers residents transport to hospital and medical appointments.
Eligibility: Anyone living in or around Crowland, Holbeach, Long Sutton, Gedney, Sutton St James, Lutton, Pinchbeck, Sutton Bridge, Spalding, Cowbitt, Malton, Weston and Whapload.
Coverage: local GP practice, pharmacies, dentist, and hospital appointments, located anywhere in England (to be discussed with the scheme).
Registration fee: No fee.
Cost: 50p per mile
Drivers will wait up to 2 hours for patients at medical appointments.
Contact: 01733 211797
Grantham Area Community Transport
This service provides transport for vulnerable and disadvantaged people to medical and other appointments. Service users can be young or elderly, disabled or otherwise disadvantaged. In other words, anyone who is unable to use public transport or where no public transport is available.
Eligibility: Individuals must be travelling for medical need and be vulnerable and live in Grantham or one of its surrounding villages.
Coverage: The service will pick individuals up from Grantham and surrounding villages and will take them on short journeys as well as long distance journeys within England including Boston, Leicester, Lincoln, Peterborough, and Nottingham.
Registration fee: No fee.
Cost: Minimum charges of £3 apply. Otherwise, the journey will cost 50p per mile.
For long distance appointments, drivers will wait for service users for no additional cost, however this must be discussed with the service and is dependent on need, availability, and distance.
Mobility: Service users must be able to get in and out of a car without too much assistance, as volunteers are not qualified to lift anyone. It may be possible to transport wheelchairs, but notice is needed to ensure the correct vehicle is assigned.
Contact: 01476 978916
Navenby Hospital Car Scheme
Navenby hospital car scheme provides transport for residents of Navenby who have no other means of transport, ensuring they can get to doctor and hospital appointments, dentist, optician, physiotherapist and podiatrist appointments and support to visit relatives and friends in hospital or nursing homes, the following access for residents of Navenby who have no other means of transport.
Eligibility: Individuals must be residents of Navenby and have no other means of transport.
Coverage: Within the local community however requirement for hospital transport can be discussed.
Registration: No fee.
Minimum cost: Journeys under 12 miles cost £3 and all other journeys are 25p a mile from the driver's home, to individual, their destination and return.
Contact: 01522 811132 (Tuesday to Friday, 10.00am to 12pm or answerphone at other times).
Heckington Area Voluntary Car Scheme
This Voluntary Car Scheme provides transport to medical appointments for the relief of persons who are in need by reason of being housebound, aged, disabled or poor who otherwise face difficulties in using public transport.
The scheme will also deliver prescriptions to those who are too ill to collect their prescriptions from the surgeries or chemists. Alongside this the scheme will arrange transport to hospitals for close relatives to enable them to visit in patients.
Eligibility: Children/young people, elderly/old people, and people with disabilities. Support residents from the Parishes of Heckington, Great Hale, Little Hale, Helpringham, Kirkby la Thorpe, Ewerby and Evedon.
Coverage: local and long-distance coverage, including GP and pharmacy visits and local and out of county hospital appointments.
Registration: No registration fee
Cost: 45p per mile.
Drivers will wait for service users requiring return trips and do not charge a ‘waiting cost’ where possible.
Contact: 01529 460809 (Offices are open Monday to Friday 8.30-10am, however messages can be left outside of these hours).
Gainsborough Community Wheels
The community Transport Scheme aims to offer a reliable, friendly, and reasonably priced service to all.
Mobility: The scheme now has a vehicle which enables clients to travel in comfort and safety, to medical appointments, seated in their wheelchair or mobility scooter.
Location: 18 Parnell Street, Gainsborough, United Kingdom
Eligibility: Any individual living with a 10-mile radius (can be negotiated dependent on need).
Coverage: Anywhere in the UK (notice must be given and dependent on driver’s availability).
Registration: No membership fee
Cost: 50p per mile
Drivers will wait for service users at appointments; however, this is dependent on need, distance, and availability.
Contact: 01427 611441 (Monday, Wednesday & Friday 10am to 3pm) or email, gaincommwheels
Lincoln Dial A Ride Voluntary Car Scheme
The service aims to support people to attend medical appointments, to go shopping or visit friends and/or family.
Eligibility: Service users must live within a ten-mile radius of the centre of Lincoln and find it difficult to use public transport due to age, health and/or disability.
Coverage: Anywhere in the mainland UK.
Registration fee: £12 per year.
Cost: Travel costs 60p a mile (or part mile), with a minimum distance charged for four miles. Travel is charged to and from the volunteer driver’s home. With no extra fee for escorts.
- If individuals will be less than two hours at a destination the driver will wait at no extra charge.
Mobility: Powered wheelchairs and scooters cannot be taken by the Voluntary Car Service, and you must be capable of transferring unaided from any manual folding wheelchairs.
- Booking: If your request is for a medical appointment, please give us as much notice as possible as we endeavour to prioritise these.
- The Voluntary Car Service can operate any day or time (Subject to volunteer availability).
Contact: 01522 544983
Lincoln Dial A Ride
DialaRide service aims to support people to attend medical appointments, to go shopping or visit friends and/or family.
Mobility: Dial A Ride buses are equipped to allow passengers to remain seated in some electric and manual wheelchairs, but this should be checked when booking. Scooters can be transported, but individuals must transfer to a bus seat before travelling.
Eligibility: Service users must live within a ten-mile radius of the centre of Lincoln and find it difficult to use public transport due to age (over 60) or living with a health condition and/or disability.
Coverage: They will transport people anywhere in mainland UK if they have a volunteer driver available.
Registration: £20.00 for a full calendar year form the day you join/renew.
Cost: Minimum distance charged is two miles, charged at £1.50 a mile (or part mile).
Notice periods: Trips can be booked a week in advance and special long-distance trips can be requested weeks or months in advance.
Operating Times: Monday to Friday 08:30am to 16:15pm and 18:30pm until 21:45pm. On Saturdays it operates from 09:00am to 16:15pm. The service is closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Contact: 01522 544983 / contact
Saxilby with Ingelby Car Scheme
This scheme is run by a group of volunteers who provide transport for elderly residents in the Parish of Saxilby.
Eligibility: Only providing transport to patients within the parish requiring transport to medical appointments.
Coverage: Saxilby, Ingelby and surrounding villages.
Registration: no membership fee.
Cost: 45p per mile to cover expenses.
Contact: 07530327664 (Monday to Friday between 8.30 and 9.30am)
Welton PDA Social Car Scheme
This scheme provides transport for those patients who would otherwise be unable to attend the surgery or healthcare appointments, for which a small charge to cover service costs is made. The transport scheme relies entirely on volunteer drivers who give their time freely (and are reimbursed for fuel and other vehicle running costs).
Eligibility: only for patients of Welton Surgery
Coverage: Villages around Welton and to hospital appointments
Registration: No registration fee
Cost: 40p per mile
- Drivers will wait for patients for 1 to 2 hours, when for medical need with no extra charge.
Contact: 01673 862232 (Through Welton Health Centre)
If you require further support please contact the Lincolnshire Transport Helpline
0345 456 4474
CallConnect
Callconnect is an on-demand bus service serving hamlets, villages and market towns throughout Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties with our flexible booking system. They offer passengers the flexibility to connect to their local communities and other transport options.
Eligibility: Living in Lincolnshire
Coverage: Lincolnshire and surrounding towns and villages.
Registration: no fee.
Cost: calculated by zones (distance) travelled. Concessionary Bus Passes are accepted as payment.
For further information please contact, 0345 234 3344.
Hospital Transport
The service provides free, non-emergency transport for patients who are attending NHS funded appointments. Eligible individuals will be limited in opportunities to use public transport or arrange their own way to appointments due to a medical reason, impacting mobility. To find out if you are eligible or arrange a booking, please contact the number below.
Please contact EMAS booking line on 0300 300 3434 for journeys, Bookings can only be arranged no more than 7 days before the actual appointment day.
Community Transport
Alternative travel options exist for people unable to access conventional public transport in Lincolnshire. Alongside this there are opportunities for individuals to access bus passes due to their age or a disability.