A DEDICATED bus to get Clydebank and Drumchapel residents to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital has moved a step closer.

Drumchapel transport charity G15 Buses was set up last year after years of campaigning by Drumchapel Initiative for Transport (DrifT).

Now with a £3,500 grant from Glasgow Airport’s FlightPath fund, they have a vehicle and are looking for residents to sign up for using the service.

The charity’s service would cost £2 for a single journey up to a maximum £5 per day. Their bus can carry up to 16 passengers.

First Glasgow runs a service but the charity said the route takes too long and is indirect.

Will Thomson, development trustee, told the Post: “I want people from Clydebank and Drumchapel to sign up – anyone who wants to go to the hospital.

“We want to get people on board and they would get picked up from central locations in both communities.

“I am unbelievably encouraged by where we are at now.

“It’s time for people to put their names forward and we can take this plan forward.

“If people email us, we can keep them up to date.”

He added: “Initially it would just be one bus, I think we’ve got to walk before we run but the dream is to put Drumchapel right at the centre of the community transport network in Glasgow.

“I want people to get where they want to get to. It’s everybody’s charity.”

The G15 charity last year asked for interested residents to buy membership cards at £15 for a year to get the service up and running.

If the group took public money, they’d be governed by SPT and then couldn’t operate the service as it would be in competition with commercial bus firms.

There was a six-month pilot bus from Clydebank to the hospital thanks to campaigning from Dalmuir and Mountblow Community Council.

Despite the backing of West Dunbartonshire councillors and passengers, the numbers were not considered high enough to make a permanent route.

Drumchapel Councillor Paul Carey said he was delighted the charity had received funding.

He said: “I hope this is the first step to getting a dedicated service to the hospital run by the community.

“First Glasgow have let us down badly over the years and anything to get quicker service to the hospital is welcome.

“I’m delighted for the charity and fully support it.”

The charity is hoping to receive a coveted Section 19 permit – of the Transport Act 1985 which enables not-for-profit organisations to operate transport – which would enable them to run a minibus service to and from the hospital.

To put your name forward for the charity, email g15buses@gmail.com or contact them through their Facebook page by searching for “G15 Buses travel club”.