The BAT Bus
The Bournemouth Accessible Transport (BAT) bus service is available for people who find it difficult to use public transport to get out and about.
“Helping local people get out and about, make friends, and feel part of the community again.”
Many people who live alone and feel isolated find new friends when they join the BAT Bus for our shopping or Lunch outing socials and feel part of the community again.
The BAT bus offers a door-to-door bus service making use of accessible buses that have a lift/ramp and accessible steps to make it easy to get on and off and are also suitable for people who use manual or powered wheelchairs. Carers, can also travel on BAT Bus.
Friendly and helpful drivers collect members from their home and take them to the shops or to a pre-set lunch outing. All the BAT Bus drivers are MIDAS (Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme) trained and police checked for your safety.
BAT Bus Routes
Shopping Outings
Please follow this link to our BAT Bus COVID risk assessment document>>
Shopping Outings: every day except Wednesday (£5.00 return fare)
The bus will come and collect you from your home and drop you off at your preferred shopping destination (Castlepoint or Boscombe Sovereign Centre), where you will have approximately two hours shopping time before the bus returns; help is always given with loading shopping back onto the bus. You can travel on the BAT Bus in your power chair or manual wheelchair, both of which will be securely clamped.
The trips you can book will depend upon your postcode. The days of operation are as follows:
Monday & Thursday Shopping: Zone A – BH1, BH5, BH6, BH7, BH8 & BH9 (BH9 east of Wimborne Road)
Tuesday & Friday Shopping: Zone B – BH2, BH3, BH4, BH9 (BH9 west of Wimborne Road) BH10 & BH11
“When the BAT Bus driver rings the doorbell friendly faces appear, hellos are made, and life begins again.”
Lunch Outings
Currently we run half-day outings every Wednesday and Thursday, usually to interesting destinations in Bournemouth and the New Forest with stops for lunch and scenic drives in the countryside
Lunch outing every second Monday: Poole – BH12 – BH18
Lunch outing Wednesday: Zone A – BH1, BH5, BH6, BH7, BH8 & BH9 (BH9 east of Wimborne Road)
Lunch outing Thursday: Zone B – BH2, BH3, BH4, BH9 (BH9 west of Wimborne Road) BH10 & BH11
Follow this link to see our current list of outings:>>>. For Bournemouth
Mini Trips for Poole area For Poole
Fares
To use the BAT Bus, you must first join the scheme. Membership costs £12 per year.
Once you are a member, you pay a fare for each journey you make:
- Shopping trips (BH1 – BH11) – £5
- Monday Poole outings – £8 (unless stated otherwise on the Outings List)
- Wednesday and Thursday Bournemouth outings – £7 (unless stated otherwise on the Outings List)
For more information on the Bournemouth Accessible Transport (BAT) bus service, please telephone 01202 534027 or alternatively email us at [email protected]. To make a booking, please call between 10 am and 12 pm the day before unless it’s a pre-bookable.
Mini Trips and Outings
We can offer transport on one of our accessible minibuses for any Social Outings you have provided you are a Charity or your Social Outing is Not-For-Profit.
“Thank you so much for organising the transport for our monthly social, it gives so much pleasure to our members to get out and meet up with people and socialise and to have such a helpful and friendly driver makes all the difference”
Hospital Hop
sedcat offers a weekday wheelchair-accessible shuttle service which can take you to a one-off hospital appointment at Royal Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole Hospitals. The services available will be dependent on where you live.
Unable to access transport services to get you to your Hospital Appointments?
sedcat offer affordable, accessible transport services to your hospital appointment!
If you live within post code areas BH1 – BH18 & BH23 and require transport to your hospital appointments at Royal Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole Hospitals, call us on 01202 534027. Our drivers can take you to vital medical appointments between the hours of Monday to Friday’s 8.00 – 16.00
Join sedcat
Our membership is now at capacity and unfortunately, we are unable to take on new members. We will update this page once spaces become available.
To use this service you need to become a BAT Bus Member which provides you preferential transport and allows you access to our other ‘BAT’ Bus services. Or you can access our Hospital Hop service as a one-time visitor provided we can source a driver. Our annual membership fee is only £1 per month paid annually.
Did you know about getting help for Hospital Hop?
You may be able to get help with your NHS appointments travel costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS).
You can apply for the scheme as long as your savings, investments or property (not including where you live) do not exceed the capital limit and you have an annual household income below £16 000. You can apply for the NHS Low Income Scheme either by post or online, just go to https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme for more information.
Fares
| Hospital HOP Only | |||
| Royal Bournemouth | Christchurch | Poole | |
| BH1 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| BH2 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| BH3 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| BH4 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| BH5 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| BH6 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| BH7 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| BH8 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| BH9 | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| BH10 | 15 | 20 | 20 |
| BH11 | 15 | 20 | 20 |
| BH12 | 15 | 20 | 10 |
| BH13 | 15 | 20 | 10 |
| BH14 | 20 | 20 | 10 |
| BH15 | 20 | 20 | 10 |
| BH16 | 30 | 30 | 15 |
| BH17 | 25 | 25 | 10 |
| BH18 | 30 | 30 | 15 |
| BH23 1** | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| BH23 2** | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| BH23 3** | 10 | 10 | 25 |
| BH23 4** | 10 | 10 | 25 |
| BH23 5** | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| BH23 6** | 10 | 10 | 25 |
| BH23 7** | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| BH23 8** | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| BH23 9** | 10 | 10 | 20 |
Community Car Scheme
The Community Cars Service helps anyone living in postcode areas BH1 – BH18 & BH23 who is unable to use public transport, but who still needs to make essential journeys. We understand how difficult life can become once people are unable to drive or use public transport. So, we offer a kind, caring and compassionate service which gives a safe and helping hand.
“Jane, the volunteer driver, is always so patient and friendly with me, we have a good old chat in the car along the way and she always helps me if I need further assistance at my appointments”
Barbara, BAT Bus member
For this service we use Volunteer drivers who operate between Monday to Friday’s 8.00 – 16.00. Our volunteers – all of whom are DBS checked – use their own cars to go out into the community and help members get to their vital medical or self-care appointments. These can include a visit to a local GP, a trip to a friendship group, even the hairdressers!
To use this service you need to become a BAT Bus Member and pay an annual membership fee of £12. For this service we charge by Postcode Zoning with a minimum charge of £6.50.
Accessible MPV
Help is now at hand for wheelchair travellers in the area who need to get out and about but can only leave their homes in an accessible vehicle. A fully accessible ‘Multi-Purpose Vehicle’ can be booked for passengers who need to travel in a wheelchair (subject to availability) at a charge of £1 per mile (Min £8 charge).
The MPV is driven by fully trained by our Hospital Hop drivers who will collect passengers from their homes and take them wherever they need to go within Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole.
To make a booking or for more information on our Community Cars transport service, please telephone 01202 534 027 or alternatively email us at [email protected].
“As we are a charity with mostly volunteer staff, our services are not guaranteed – but we will make every attempt to provide you with the service you need”
Shopmobility
Shopmobility at Castlepoint, equipment is available for use by anyone, young or old, no matter whether their mobility impairment is temporary or permanent, or caused by illness, accident or age. This service is for anyone with mobility problems to help them get around independently with freedom, confidence and dignity.
Equipment including electric scooters, powered and manual wheelchairs can be hired by local residents or visitors to the area on a daily or long loan basis.
What next?
For more information or to arrange for long loan hire of mobility equipment from Castlepoint Shopmobility please telephone 01202 534027 or alternatively email us at [email protected].
General opening hours:-
Mon – Fri 9.00 – 16.00 & Sat 10.00 – 15.00
Bank Holidays – closed.
For an annual fee of £12.00, Shopmobility members can benefit from a reduced fee of £3.00 for each visit and new members get the first hire free. First time visitors will be asked to register and will need to show some form of identification.
Visitors pay £6 per visit for hire of electric equipment, £5.00 for manual wheelchairs. Full training can be given on any of the equipment and bookings can be made in advance to ensure availability.
If required, overnight and longer hires of Castlepoint Shopmobility Mobility Equipment are available. A deposit will be required for this service.
Castlepoint Shopmobility is located on the lower GROUND FLOOR car park, directly underneath Sainsburys , Castlepoint Shopping Park, Castle Lane West, Bournemouth BH8 9XA. The car park is divided into a BLUE zone and a RED zone. Shopmobility is situated in RED zone, enter via Aisle 19 and continue through the to the under-croft; we are on the right hand side. Parking is free at Castlepoint up to 4 hours. There are disabled bays outside the unit, but if you use a disabled parking space you will need to display your blue badge.
The M1 bus from Poole stops near the unit and there are other bus stops nearby.
Castlepoint Shopmobility is part of the Wessex Shopmobility group. This means that members can use the other Shopmobility units in the Wessex group. Sites include: Andover, Basingstoke Chichester, Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Southampton, Salisbury Portsmouth, Winchester and The Isle of Wight.
To make a booking or for more information on Castlepoint Shopmobility mobility equipment available for hire, please telephone 01202 534 027 or alternatively email us at i[email protected].
We are members of:
For more information on Long Loan of mobility equipment follow this link:>>