NORTH Ayrshire Council will be running shopping excursions and day trips around the coast this summer.

It's part of NAC's new community transport scheme and will be run in conjunction with Coalfield Community Transport.

The day hopper service will run scenic tours and day trips to places such as Largs, Arran and Cumbrae.

And the council's depute leader Shaun Macaulay has hailed North Ayrshire community groups for helping highlight transport needs in the area.

He said at cabinet on Tuesday: “This has been a long time coming. I was delighted to see this paper coming forward given the amount of times I have seen transport talked about at community engagement sessions.

“It comes up time and time again. We’re trying something new.

“This is never going to replace the Stagecoach bus service in North Ayrshire but it will give communities a sense that, if they have the power and the mechanism, then we support them coming up with their own ideas in the local areas with solutions that suit their local needs.

“That’s exactly what we are going to do. I am delighted to see this coming forward.”

Council leader Marie Burns believes the plans will help combat loneliness and said: “I am really pleased to see this.

“One of the issues raised by communities in terms of transport was loneliness and social isolation.

“The day trips would allow people to get out and about to other parts of North Ayrshire.”

Transport was confirmed as an issue in the community at mini enquiries.

In response to the council’s 2023-24 budget setting, £100,000 was allocated and earmarked for a community transport pilot. Since then, there have been exploratory discussions with Coalfield Community Transport.

A community engagement exercise is being carried out across all areas to identify local transport needs alongside barriers and gaps which could help establish demand for a community transport service.

The feedback from the day hopper scheme could lead to a wider community transport pathfinder run alongside locality partnerships. Funding opportunities will be sought for the overall project.