FREE bus travel to help people get to job interviews has been gifted to a Reading charity.
Reading Buses is offering free trips aimed at helping people who are either homeless or at risk of losing their home so they can get across Reading.
The service also covers helping people get to training as well as employment appointments.
Homelessness prevention charity Launchpad is coordinating the scheme, and Reading Buses hopes that the project will help solve some issues causes by staff shortages at this time.
This is not the first time that Reading Buses has helped groups in this way, providing free travel for the Forgotten British Gurkha charity.
Its chief executive officer, Robert Williams, said: “It is about helping prevent homelessness and giving local people the independence they need without worrying about finding money for their bus fare.
“We are clearly aware of staff shortages in many sectors of our local economy and feel we can make a contribution towards easing the current serious problem.”
“We’re also continuing to support those with Job Centre Plus cards with our Job seeker ID. We’re giving job seekers access to discounted all-day tickets and supporting them to get around while they are searching for employment.”
And the project is welcomed by Launchpad.
The charity’s head of marketing and fundraising, Kirsti Wilson, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Reading Buses for their kind donation of bus travel.
“When you’re trying to rebuild your life after experiencing homelessness, finances can be tight and sometimes there isn’t even enough for the essentials – which can be a huge barrier when you’re trying to get back on your feet
“With the gift of bus travel from Reading Buses, our clients can access things like education, training and employment opportunities to increase their confidence, gain independence and finally break the cycle of homelessness. Bus travel might seem fairly simple to many people, but to our clients it will mean everything.”
