TISBUS, the Tisbury and District Community Minibus Limited, is a registered charity established in June 2000 with a mission to provide affordable door-to-door, wheelchair accessible, transport for everyone in the Tisbury and Nadder Valley region.
TISBUS is available to any resident, group or organisation and provides minibus transport for regular scheduled services such as shopping runs to Salisbury, Shaftesbury and Warminster, for interesting member outings to regional visitor attractions, and for weddings, private parties and functions. It also transports people from surrounding communities in to Tisbury to attend significant community events staged there.
The Tisbury and District Community Minibus Ltd, a Registered Charity
Company No 04014172
The drivers disliked the lumbering great beast, it was hard to drive around our narrow twisty lanes and we certainly kept the wing mirror manufacturers in business at £150 a time. ‘Tisbury Time’ meant that the local population only took to the service gradually and then the engine blew up and it was off the road for several weeks – no spare ‘buses in those days. This meant that members lost faith and drifted away. It was decided that as soon as funds allowed, a more modern, compact vehicle should be purchased. Along came the late Gerry Quirke as the new transport manager. He was amazing in the way he found cheap or even free second hand buses. With the advent of smaller, more easily handled vehicles, numbers increased again.
Over the years several second hand buses were added to the fleet and then came the time when a NEW bus could be considered. Many applications for funds had been submitted, a very time consuming job, and then the phone rang. It was the Gannett Foundation who were offering us double the amount for which we had applied. From then a brand new bus was in sight. Following this purchase a rolling programme of replacement buses has been in place. With this replacement scheme and the help and enthusiasm of Gerry, faith was restored and more people used the regular services and went on trips. Private hire was encouraged and it was possible to provide your own approved driver – thus keeping costs down.
Over the years the board members have changed, those in charge of various sections have come and gone – all of them doing sterling work and often far beyond their remit [link to former directors list]. In particular Peter Thompson, Eddie Neighbours and the late Gerry Quirke as transport managers gave a great part of their week to TISBUS along with their expertise to keep the various buses on the road. The Co-ordinators all had a special something and
Raising funds was a big issue and many hours were spent completing grant seeking forms. We were amazed at the diverse enterprises that supported us from the previously mentioned Gannett Foundation through to The Pigeon Fanciers. The low was after a couple of years, when meeting with the Countryside Agency, their representative said that if she had had her way we would never have received any funding and thus never have been on the road. After several years of ‘nagging’ letters to Salisbury District Council the secretary finally received permission to allow members to use their bus passes on approved trips. In order to help funds, days out were organised, contracts offered to schools and groups and non-members/members encouraged to hire the vehicle for private functions.
Apologies are given for the omission of anyone who helped TISBUS in any way but you are all too numerous to name. However, that does not mean your work was not appreciated.
TISBUS MISSION STATEMENT
To provide a community led, affordable, door-to-door, wheel chair accessible community transport service for everyone in Tisbury and the surrounding area, on specific designated services, special outings and on private journeys.
One of the key aims is to provide help with wheelchair accessible vehicles to the isolated and less mobile who may be unable to access public transport.
We continue to try and improve our services by listening to the needs of our users, both current and potential, and thereby to provide a responsive and flexible range of services in our region.
Our fleet now compares well with similar organisations in the rest of Wiltshire and in neighbouring counties. Successful fund raising over the last 10 years which has enabled us to provide us with a fleet of 4 vehicles, 3 of which are wheelchair accessible. The size of the fleet will be under constant review. When we buy our new bus in March 2018, there will be an option to have a fleet of 3 or 4 vehicles.
We must ensure our vehicles are used efficiently to provide the most effective service possible.
Confirm complete funding