A local minibus company, Masons Coaches, have been supporting elderly residents in Berkhamsted by ensuring they have a way to get to their COVID-19 vaccine appointment safely and completely free of charge.
After hearing of a number of their clients who rely on their services would struggle to get to their appointment, the owners of the business thought it would be something important to do and now have at least three shuttles going out every day.
It has been reported that thousands of pensioners have been told to travel miles from their home for the vaccine, including one resident who had to go to Stevenage in order to receive the jab.
Speaking to BerkhamstedNews, the manager of the company, Candice Mason said: “People who use coach transport often don’t have any other form of getting about, and we started to wonder how some of them will be able to get to their appointments so we felt it would be a great time for us to give back to the community.
“We made a few phone calls to customers and then it just started building up from there. We’ve got all the time in the world at the moment and many of our drivers have volunteered to take part as they wanted to help out.”
Mason’s Coaches have worked closely with local care homes, including Sheldon Lodge in Berkhamsted as well as other residents in the town, and Candice has said that the reaction has been overwhelming.
She added: “The response from everyone has been so lovely, and customers have had an overwhelming feeling of excitement and gratitude. Some of them haven’t been able to leave their homes since last March, and now they are able to start to feel safe again.
“The whole process couldn’t have gone any smoother, it’s all worked perfectly and the staff at the vaccination centres have been brilliant with us.
“We haven’t put an end date on this, so if people do need help getting to their appointment then I’d urge them to get in touch, and we haven’t let anyone down so far!”
If you need support in getting to your vaccination appointment, you can get in touch with Mason’s by calling 01296 661604.
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