Dolen Teifi is a community transport organisation that was created by volunteers from the enterprise group Llandysul and Pont-Tyweli Ymlaen Cyf. Their goal is to provide sustainable transport to the people who live in and around Llandysul, including the Brechfa Forest area.
They already had two buses available for community hire and driven by volunteers, and wanted to develop an Electric Vehicle car club due to the increased flexibility it would offer club users, the lower fuel costs and considerable environmental benefits.
The fund supported the salary of a development officer for 2 years, purchased a Nissan ENV 200 five seat, fully disability accessible car, training for community members and new charge points in Llandysul, Pencader and Llanllwni. A further charge point will be installed at Brechfa Hall once the renovations and electric upgrade (also funded by the fund) are completed. All the charge points will allow two vehicles to be charged at the same time.
In the first few months the new electric vehicle was used by 46 individuals taking approximately 320 journeys. As a result of this project, Dolen Teifi have successfully drawn down National Lottery funding to extend the scheme. The Lottery funding will be used to purchase 3 additional EV cars that will be placed within a radius of 6 miles of Llandysul. Additionally this will create a new wheelchair passport service and has some scope to expand the provision of charge points.
In response to the pandemic, the organisation offered their vehicle to support volunteer efforts transporting food and supplies for those who were shielding.