On the Go – Community Transport Making a Difference Across Carmarthenshire

Our On the Go / Ar y Ffordd community transport service, delivered in partnership by Age Cymru Dyfed and Dolen Teifi, continues to grow, helping more people living with disabilities across Carmarthenshire to access essential services, activities and opportunities that might otherwise be difficult or impossible to reach.

Funded from June 2025 for an initial three years, the service provides a community transport option for people living with disabilities across Carmarthenshire, including wheelchair accessible vehicles. At the end of the three year funding period, the vehicles will become community assets, providing a lasting benefit to local communities.

Our busiest month yet

July 2026 was our busiest month for travel since the service began, with almost 2,000 miles travelled across 68 bookings. It was also our largest month so far for passenger numbers. An increase in bookings from care homes, alongside greater use of the self drive option, has enabled more people to travel together and get greater benefit from each journey.

Behind these figures are real people, for whom being able to get where they need and want to go, whether attending an appointment, taking part in a social activity, visiting further afield or simply having the opportunity to get out and reconnect with their local community, can make a real difference.

Different communities, different needs

One of the strengths of On the Go is the flexibility of the service. Vehicles based in the larger towns of Llanelli and Carmarthen are generally providing shorter, more frequent journeys. Meanwhile, vehicles serving other parts of the county regularly help people to travel longer distances and access key services and activities that may not be available locally. This is particularly important in rural communities, where limited transport options can create a significant barrier to independence and participation in community life for people living with disabilities.

We are also seeing care and residential homes making innovative use of the service. In Newcastle Emlyn and Llandovery, care home staff have been trained to drive the vehicles themselves, enabling residents to benefit from trips and activities without always needing an external driver. This self drive approach gives organisations greater flexibility and helps ensure that vehicles are used as effectively as possible for the benefit of local people.

Growing the service

We are delighted that a further five vehicles will shortly be joining the On the Go fleet. This additional resource will significantly increase the capacity of the service and provide more opportunities for people and organisations across Carmarthenshire to access flexible, accessible community transport.

As additional vehicles come on board, we will continue to look carefully at where the greatest need exists and how the expanded fleet can complement the existing service. Experience gained from our first vehicles, including the different patterns of use we are seeing in larger towns and more rural communities, will help us make the best possible use of this additional capacity.

More than getting from A to B

For many people living with disabilities, accessible transport is much more than completing a journey. Being unable to travel can contribute to loneliness and isolation, making it harder to attend appointments and preventing people from participating in activities that support their wellbeing. On the Go aims to remove some of these barriers.

Continued growth in bookings, passenger numbers and mileage demonstrates the demand for flexible, accessible community transport across Carmarthenshire. Just as importantly, it shows how services can adapt to the different needs of urban and rural communities.

This partnership between Age Cymru Dyfed and Dolen Teifi brings together local knowledge, community connections and transport expertise, enabling us to develop a service that responds to what communities tell us they need.

With five additional vehicles soon to become available, this is an exciting stage for On the Go. We will continue to monitor how vehicles are being used, listen to passengers and communities, and look for opportunities to help even more people living with disabilities stay connected, independent and involved in community life.

Because sometimes having the right transport available can make the difference between being unable to take part and being able to get out, connect and live well.

Get in touch

For further information on the project, please visit our On The Go page and/or get in touch by email or phone.

📧 Email: communitytransport@agecymrudyfed.org.uk
📞 Call: 07399 861341