Operations Manager – Lorraine Davies

/ K R Whitbread

yelabus are pleased to announce that we have appointed Lorraine Davies as our Operations Manager with effect from 15 April and that she has now completed her training and has taken over from Sarah.

Lorraine has a wide experience of customer service roles and has extensive knowledge of transport, although minibuses are a first.

Lorraine lives locally in Darby Green with her partner, one of her two children and a dog.

If you would be interested in hiring our vehicles or knowing more about our services she will be pleased to assist.

Tythings Coffee Club says Thank You.

/ K R Whitbread

One of our regular hirers, the Tythings Coffee Club, has recently received sponsorship from Robert Collard to meet the costs of hiring our vehicle for transport to their weekly meeting at Monteagle Community Centre every Thursday.

Both the Tythings coffee club and yelabus are grateful to Mr Collard  for stepping when the previous arrangements reached a conclusion at the end of March as this will mean that meeting numbers can be maintained for the benefit of the participants as it is a reason to be out and about and meeting friends.

Collard is a well known local business turning over £70m per year, now operating nationwide and we are pleased that a local business is able to provide this support.

yelabus runs by using volunteer drivers to provide transport for the people of Yateley using accessible minibuses.  If you would like to know more about out services please contact our Operations Manager.

Thank you.

K R Whitbread
Chair yelabus

Dolls’ House Raffle

/ K R Whitbread
Dolls House

Dolls House

yelabus has received a donation of a 50 year old dolls’ house which has been lovingly restored to a very high standard.

yelabus will be raffling this at the Yateley Lions May Day Fayre on 6 May 2024.  Tickets will be £5 given the effort expended in restoration with the proceeds going towards the continuation of our yelabus services in Yateley and surrounding districts.

The raffle has now ended and we can report that the raffle for this item raised £150 and we are very grateful to all those who participated.

New Volunteers

/ K R Whitbread

As  a small Charity our activities are controlled by the Trustees and we meet once a month to review activities and discuss matters which have arisen.

Whilst we have seven Trustees at present the team feel that we we are in need of additional assistance in certain areas – particularly with social media, marketing in general, maintaining the website and making our presence better known in Yateley and beyond.  And new voices are bound to bring new ideas and thoughts which can only better our performance and visibility.

There is no automatic need for such volunteers to take on the responsibilities of being a Trustee and indeed we ask all potential new Trustees to attend a few meetings before they are confirmed.  Regrettably we are not in a position to offer any remuneration – but we all know that our services are hugely valued by the community.

If you are interested in assisting us then please contact chair@yelabus.org.uk who will be happy to meet for a coffee and informal discussion.

Our new bonnet

/ K R Whitbread

Our new bonnet

We work closely with Hampshire County Council and they have introduced a new County wide brand “Connect” for all Community Transport operators and we have now added this logo to the front of our two vehicles.

“Connect” applies primarily to the service we provide to Hampshire taking residents from Yateley, Blackwater & Hawley and Eversley to The Meadows and Camberley on every other Friday.

There is a need to pre-register with our Operations Manager (07719 799263 or operationsmanager@yelabus.org.uk) and also to book for the particular dates on which you wish to travel.

Sarah Currie

/ K R Whitbread

It is with regret that the Trustees have accepted Sarah’s resignation as Operations Manager.  Since she joined us two years ago she has been unstinting in her efforts to ensure that our operations run smoothly and safely, recruiting additional volunteer drivers to strengthen the team and also chasing opportunities for additional hirers to ensure that yelabus delivered on the promise of Transport for Our Community.  She has grown the number of hirers and participants and also launched new initiatives, particularly our own excursions.

We are grateful for her efforts and sad that she has decided to take a new opportunity but we also understand the world does not stand still – the wheels have to keep turning.

Thank you Sarah.

2022 AGM Minutes

/ K R Whitbread

The AGM was held and the minutes are linked below.  At the meeting Margaret Claydon (the last original Trustee) and John Ellis stood down having both served for lengthy periods as Trustees and in John’s case as Chair for many years.  We thank both for their exemplary service to yelabus.

We welcome to the Committee some new faces, Paul Champney as Treasurer and David Shafto to look after IT.  However more volunteers for both drivers and committee members would be welcomed.

Minutes of the 2022 Annual General Meeting.

2022 AGM

/ K R Whitbread

The 2022 AGM was held on Tuesday 13 December and a fuller report and Minutes will appear shortly.

Highlight of the meeting was a presentation by Josh Leppard representing the Young Carers whom we transport 2 or 3 times each week to attend sessions enabling those involved to relax from caring for family members for a while and enjoy interaction with others of the same age and away from the pressures of school and home. We thank Josh for his time and for vibrantly conveying the enhancements they are making to families in the area.

The meeting also accepted with regret the resignation of two very long serving Trustees – Margaret Claydon who is the last of those involved when the charity was formed in the late 1990’s – and also Chair John Ellis who has led the charity for the last eight years and was involved as a Trustee long before that. The meeting and the Trustees thanked them both for excellent service and undeniable contributions to our well being. Margaret will be continuing to use our services and John has indicated that it is probably only a matter of time before he is also using us!

We have two volunteers to join the management committee and also for the position of Independent Examiner. However we would welcome any individuals who are prepared to assist the committee as we know we could serve many more residents if we could only reach them through improving public awareness. And we always have a need for more volunteer drivers actually driving our buses with full training provided.

If you would like to know more about any of the opportunities please initially contact our Operations Manager Sarah on 07719 799263 or by email

Close Shave

/ K R Whitbread
Rob as work commences at Michelle’s hands

On 16 November, Rob, the brother of one of our Trustees, Mo Ayres, decided to have a hair-cut and colour to aid our fundraising efforts. Michelle (Mo’s niece) undertook the deed and above you can see the cut in action!

The combined colour and cut has raised nearly £500 for yelabus’ coffers and this will enable us to continue delivering our community transport services after what has been a difficult couple of years all round.

Michelle, Rob and Mo – cut and colour completed

We would like to thank Bob for his sacrifice and Michelle and Mo for aiding our income through this endeavour and hope that the trauma of the new colour was not too great!