1000th trip clocked up by Bo'ness Car 4U
An incredible milestone has been reached by a small, local charity which supports cancer patients.
Bo’ness Car 4U has been driving cancer patients to and from appointments, free of charge, since 2022.
Powered by volunteer co-ordinators and drivers, the charity clocked up its 1000th hospital transport run in January – a milestone that wouldn’t be possible without the community’s support.
Val Ferguson, the charity’s publicity officer, said: “In January we reached our 1000th hospital transport run for our patients, clocking up over 25,000 miles since 2022.
“It’s an incredible achievement for such a small charity, which would not have been possible without the continued support of our incredibly dedicated volunteers.
“We also rely on the wider community in Bo’ness – individuals and businesses have been very generous in their support of the charity since it was founded.”
Bo’ness Car 4U offers a free, door-to-door transport service to those who are undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy and need to travel to Glasgow, Edinburgh or Airdrie for treatment, often for multiple sessions.
Patients from Bo’ness, Blackness and Philpstoun are referred to the charity by staff at the town’s two general medical practices.
Volunteers support patients who, through either ill health, age, disability or financial hardship, are unable to attend appointments on their own.
Val said: “In September, five new patients were referred to us in one week. When we completed our last known booked drive for December, we had 171 drives during that quarter alone.
“The volunteer co-ordinators who organise the transport also had to cope with 15 cancellations and 34 trips where the original times were changed.
“Our drivers clocked up 16,000 miles on more than 400 trips in 2024, compared to a total of 302 in 2023.”
While delighted to be able to offer the service for free, Bo’ness Car 4U does rely on the goodwill of locals to help fund the charity.
The committee is hoping readers will again support the cause as Bo’ness Car 4U is bidding for £5000 via Falkirk Council’s Community Choices Small Grant Award.
It is one of six local charities vying for a grant in the Bo’ness and Blackness area, the others being Newtown Park Association, the Tuesday Club, 3rd Bo’ness Scouts, Bo’ness Children’s Fair Festival and Kinneil Band.
Only residents living in Ward One are eligible to vote and they must provide their full postcode to do so. Each participant has three votes but can only submit one vote per project.
Voting opened on Monday and locals must cast their votes by the deadline on Friday, February 28.
Val added: “We’re a very small group, with limited Facebook traffic, so we’re trying to raise awareness in the Bo’ness and Blackness area, rather than just through families who have sadly needed to use our cancer patient transfer service.
“We’re bidding for £5000 to help run the service; we’d be very grateful if locals would consider casting a vote for us.”
More than 220 locals have already voted; visit participateplus.falkirk.gov.uk/en-GB/folders/community-choices-2025.