A north-east community group, which won a new minibus in a Press and Journal competition, has racked up 5,500 miles on the vehicle in the last year.
The Keith and Strathisla Community Bus Group has been inundated with bookings for the 17-seater Ford Transit, worth more than £37,000, since taking the keys in October.
And organisers say they have fulfilled some “unexpected” requests in that time – including ferrying wedding parties to ceremonies.
Group chairman William Gray described the luxurious vehicle – donated by oil and gas firm Nexen – as a “big improvement” on the set of wheels they previously used.
He said: “It is very nice to drive, all of our passengers are delighted with it.
“We have done about 5,500 miles on it already, taking different groups on outings to places like Peterhead, Aberdeen and Inverness. We already had a system in place and a pool of drivers from when we used the old bus, so it was easy to get up and running.
“But, since getting the new one, we have received requests to drive parties to weddings in Banff and Aberdeen, which we have been happy to oblige though that is unusual for us.”
About 20 organisations regularly use the bus, including Scouts, British Legion, bowling clubs, schools and health support groups.
Community initiatives to benefit include the North East Sensory Services charity for people with hearing and vision problems.
Mr Gray added: “Without us, they would have to rely on getting a lift to their various outings from people in cars, but now they can all travel together.”
And pupils from Keith Grammar School were taken to Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University to compete in an underwater robotics competition – which they won.
The bus group staved off competition from 164 other entrants to secure the vehicle.
The Keith collective amassed thousands of tokens – with 1,500 handed over in just one weekend.
All the different groups – from as far afield as Shetland – submitted a combined 132,000 tokens.
Ray Riddoch, Nexen’s UK managing director, said: “It is fantastic to hear how wide an impact the bus is making to so many community groups in the Keith and Strathisla area – and to see how innovative the group’s been in expanding the service.”
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