HASLEMERE Age Concern and Hoppa created a new transport link on Tuesday. Age Concern, which operates from the Haslewey Centre in Weyhill, is now part of a transport partnership with Hoppa – Waverley's community transport group. Hoppa will now provide most of Age Concern's transport services, and the Age Concern minibus has been donated to provide a dedicated service for the day centre in Weyhill. The minibus has been refreshed with the Hoppa logo and specially created "Age Concern Partnership" panels. The idea to link up came out of a review of Age Concern's transport requirements in Haslemere via a project team that included Waverley Borough Council. Edith Kinghorn, chairman of Age Concern Haslemere and District, said: "This new transport link with Hoppa has been a really positive decision. Age Concern can now focus on what it excels at – providing local people with a wide variety of services including a fully serviced day centre, while Hoppa gets to use its expertise for clients who want access to Age Concern's services at Haslewey. "Many of our clients who currently use Hoppa say how happy they are with the services provided, and we've listened to them. We were also finding it more and more difficult to recruit volunteer drivers for the minibus. Hoppa can provide the support services that relieve us of many transport worries." Jim Cumming, Hoppa's operations director, said: "We are delighted by Age Concern's vote of confidence for the whole Hoppa operation and it just shows what co- operative and commonsense thinking can achieve for the people of Weyhill, Haslemere and Waverley. We'd like to link up with many other organisations across Waverley in the same way." Anyone who thinks they know someone who could use the services of Age Concern in Haslemere, but can't get to the centre on their own, should contact Hoppa on 01428 681701 or Age Concern direct on 01428 648716.
