Vantastic provides an accessible transport service for people with mobility difficulties. Among the services offered by Vantastic are: door to door transport in specially-converted vehicles, wheelchair accessible vehicles for hire, a ‘Shop Route’ service designed to assist older people who may have difficulty getting to and from the local shops.

The initiative began life in the early 1990s and has been supported by Clann Credo since 2002. The aim is to combat the social exclusion that results from poor public transport and help people with mobility difficulties participate fully in the life of their communities. Vantastic now operates across the Dublin area, providing transport services from 7am-10pm seven days a week.

 

It now has a fleet of 25 fully accessible vehicles and a staff complement of 30, including 24 professionally-trained drivers. The success of Vantastic has inspired similar initiatives in south Dublin, Cork and Clare, all of which are supported by Clann Credo. In south Dublin Accessible Community Transport Southside (ACTS) provides a flexible demand-led transport service for people with mobility difficulties, whereby people join a Travel Club and make bookings as required.

 

Formed in 2002, ACTS has a fleet of six minibuses and provides a seven day service. Meanwhile, in the south of the country, the Cork Centre for Independent Living (CCIL) also counts accessible transport projects amongst the range of services it provides, whilst Clare Accessible Transport helps ensure that people in rural Ireland are not disadvantaged by transport ?deficiencies and have the opportunity to participate fully in community life.