A brand new taxi bus service connects two tourist hot spots with the closest Greater Anglia station making day trips by train even easier.

Framlingham Castle and Snape Maltings are two of Suffolk’s most well-loved tourist destinations and now thanks to the brand new environmentally friendly Katch electric taxi bus service, are even easier to access without the need of a car than ever before!

The innovative green service began operating in May and created an easy link from Wickham Market station to Framlingham Castle. The service has later been rolled out to include Snape Maltings, which is an arts, retail and heritage site set on the River Alde and houses shops, galleries and several performance venues one of which is the renowned Snape Maltings Concert Hall.

Katch has been introduced by Suffolk County Council in partnership with CarsSmart, and also with support from East Suffolk Council, Framlingham Town Council, Wickham Market Parish Council, Community Rail Network, East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership and Greater Anglia.

The environmentally friendly initiative will support Suffolk councils commitment to increase passenger transport in the areas in a sustainable way and will play an important part towards cutting carbon, helping to reach the Government’s aim of zero emissions by 2050, with Suffolk County Council setting their own target to achieve carbon neutral by 2030.

Available for both visitors and residents, Katch provides a transport solution for both Wickham Market and Framlingham and has created improved access to those travelling to and from the area using the rail network.

The electric vehicle operates as a shared taxi bus serving: Framlingham – Wickham Market – Wickham Market Railway Station (at Campsea Ashe) – Tunstall – Snape Maltings – Snape.

The service picks up at fixed bus stops with journeys available to book on-demand by telephone or using the Katch app. Fares are charged in line with bus services and payments can be made either by contactless card or cash.

A grant of £7,700 has been provided by the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership and also the  Community Rail Network Development Fund from the Department of Transport to provide the installation of electric vehicle charging points for Katch buses to use at Wickham Market train station at Campsea Ashe.

Councillor Alexander Nicoll, Suffolk County Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Transport Strategy and county councillor for the Wickham division (covering Wickham Market and Campsea Ashe) said: “I am delighted Katch is now able to help people visit Snape Maltings, which is such a popular arts and heritage destination.

“It is only by making public transport a viable alternative for all in our county that we will get more people to leave their cars at home, which will play a big part in our efforts to reduce vehicle emissions and cut carbon.

“Katch is also part of our wider strategy to help, especially rural, communities with better public transport connections to facilitate work, education and leisure needs.”

Harry Young of Britten Pears Arts, which runs Snape Maltings, said: “We are delighted to be working with Katch to help people from both the local area and further afield to reach Snape Maltings using low carbon transport and without needing a car. We are eager to make the site more accessible to everyone, and to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Aaron Taffera, chair of the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership, said, “We were very keen to support the expansion of this service to make it easier for people to access train travel in a rural area; at the same time tourists will now be able to easily visit Snape Maltings in addition to Framlingham Castle using the rail network.

“With rail travel being the third most sustainable form of transport after walking and cycling, a combined journey using the train and Katch will help to cut down on emissions and pollution from car use in our countryside and encourage people back to rail.”

Katch is available seven days a week:

• Monday to Friday from 7.50am to 8pm
• Saturday from 8am to 8pm
• Sundays and Bank Holidays from 10am to 6pm.

Journeys need to be booked 30 minutes in advance using the Katch App or using telephone number: 01728 55 44 55.

An adult return journey costs £7 and a child return journey costs £3, an adult single journey cost £4 and a child single journey costs £1.50.

To find out more about Katch, please visit: http://www.katchalift.com