Slinky’s success sees move for new buses

SOMERSET Council is to purchase seven new minibuses following the “tremendous success” of its Slinky service over the last 18 months.

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The Slinky service provides digital demand-responsive transport, enabling residents to pre-book transport for shopping, medical appointments and other trips in areas which are not well-served by other public transport.

Since the revived ‘Digital Slinky’ service was introduced in May 2024, backed by central government, it has completed 10,000 journeys across the county.

The council is now using government grants to purchase six further wheelchair-accessible diesel minibuses, allowing the service to be expanded and allowing maintenance on the existing vehicles to be carried out with minimal disruption.