Devon Community Drivers

Many people living in rural Devon rely on community car schemes to reach essential services such as healthcare appointments, social activities, and local support. These schemes are a lifeline – but they are also facing growing challenges. In particular, many groups report that it is becoming harder to attract new volunteers and maintain sustainable services for the future.

To help address this, we are launching an innovative pilot project designed to strengthen rural transport and make volunteering easier, more flexible, and more inclusive.

Project Aims 

We are working to develop a new, scalable volunteering model that will:

• Attract and retain more volunteers, especially younger people and those who may not have considered volunteering before.
• Support the long-term sustainability of rural car schemes by making volunteering more flexible and easier to manage.
• Improve access to health, wellbeing, and community services for people living in rural and coastal areas of Devon.
• Bring different age groups together to support rural mobility.

How the Pilot Will Work

This project is a collaboration between Devon Communities Together, Devon Access to Services, and several local car scheme partners across Eastern, South, and West Devon.

Together, we will:

• Develop a car‑share micro‑volunteering campaign, encouraging people under 65 – and anyone looking for flexible ways to volunteer – to get involved.
• Explore new ways to involve people of all ages, helping strengthen connections within our rural communities.
• Evaluate the impact, looking at changes in volunteer numbers, diversity, and service reach to understand what works best.

Why This Matters

Rural car schemes help ensure that everyone—regardless of where they live—can access vital services and stay connected to their community. By modernising the volunteering experience and opening it up to a wider range of people, we can help secure these services for the future.

This project aims to create a model that can be used not only across Devon, but potentially in other rural areas facing similar challenges.

Watch this space for details on how you can enquire about becoming a volunteer driver!