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By Ben Hope

27th July 2010 11:05:54 AM

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Ride on … Volunteer mini van driver Kevin Henderson has been driving Whittlesea Community Connections buses for nearly two years. 50537 Picture: EMILY LANE

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FOR many Whittlesea residents without access to a car or public transport a trip to the doctor’s is no simple task.

That’s why for the past four years Whittlesea Community Connections volunteers have worked hard to make sure residents with transport difficulties can make it to where they need to be.

Volunteer driver Kevin Henderson has been driving Whittlesea Community Connections buses for nearly two years and knows the service is vital for many residents.

Mr Henderson, 64, currently drives the Health Connect bus that ensures residents in need can make it to their medical appointments.

“It is easy to forget that not everyone drives or owns a car,” Mr Henderson said. “I had a 60-year-old lady today who needed to get from Bundoora to a doctors appointment in Reservoir. Without our service she could have been waiting on a corner for a taxi. That’s not ideal when you have to get to a medical appointment.”

Mr Henderson volunteers two days a week and said he enjoyed meeting people from a diverse range of backgrounds.

“We are a very multicultural community and that can make it a bit hard with the directions sometimes,” he said.

“You also have to be flexible with medical appointments as they can sometime run longer than expected but everyone is always very appreciative and no one ever complains.”

Whittlesea Community Connections client services team leader Annette McKail said the community transport service was established two years ago to help residents who didn’t have access to a car and may have difficulty accessing other forms of transport.

“Our specially trained drivers and transport escorts take community members to anything from medical appointments to social support groups,” Ms McKail said.

“We also run a weekly bus service from Whittlesea township to Epping Plaza and back to help residents do their shopping.”

Ms McKail said the service was always looking for more drivers to meet a growing demand.

“We have a range of people volunteering but we are always in need of more,” she said.

“You don’t need a special licence to drive the buses and all our volunteers receive free driver and wheelchair hoist training as well as first aid courses. If people don’t want to drive they can also volunteer as transport assistants.”

Anyone interested in joining the Whittlesea Community Connections volunteers can contact Annette on 9401 6666.

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