For Vitalise guests, our vehicles are not just a means of transport, they are a way of being able to access and enjoy a wide range of outings and events that are not normally available to them because of their disabilities. They are absolutely essential to the respite breaks that we offer. We urgently need to replace many of the vehicles at our centres. The majority were purchased (second hand) by Vitalise around fifteen years ago and constant heavy usage has meant much more wear and tear than an average vehicle. Vehicles are becoming increasingly unreliable and sadly, day trips have often had to be cancelled at short notice. Each centre has a coach and a minibus, which means that we can be more accommodating to individual choices or needs (for example guests who would like to attend church services on a Sunday, or two groups of guests who want different outings) and in most instances are able to offer travel transfers to and from our centres. Each coach costs in the region of £130,000* including adaptation costs to accommodate the increasingly very high and complex care needs of our disabled guests. Often guests who come to our centres have been turned away from other respite services as their disabilities are deemed too severe. We are extremely proud to be able to help such guests and strive to ensure that they can take part in all the activities, trips and excursions that are on offer: * We have already negotiated a £19,500 discount on the cost of the large coach from the suppliers.