The Manorbier Community Minibus service was officially launched in the village on Monday by the chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council, Clr. Mickey Folland.
The 15-seater minibus will be operated by the Manorbier Community Transport Association and will provide 'home-to-school' transport for pupils at the local school who do not qualify for free school transport. It is also available for use by community groups during the week - when not being used for school runs - and at weekends.
Pembrokeshire County Council have provided the wheelchair accessible minibus, which is powered by environmentally-friendly liquid petroleum gas and petrol, and will also service and maintain it.
The council has also provided MiDAS - the Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme - training for 10 volunteer drivers.
The minibus scheme took root in January of this year when the county council's community regeneration unit undertook a community appraisal of the Manorbier area, targeting the existing use of transport to help identify needs.
The study concluded there was a need for a community transport scheme in the Manorbier area.
This was followed by a number of local residents forming the Manorbier CTA, chaired by Joan Stace, with the aim of developing and operating a community minibus scheme.
The monthly fleet charges will initiially be funded from the county council's local transport services grant allocation. However, once the service is fully established, the Manorbier CTA will contribute towards the charges. Several private sponsors are also involved in the scheme.
There is also a possibility of providing a dial-a-ride service in the future, if and when a need is identified for such a service in the area.
• The local school actually started to use the bus last week and on its first day it carried 27 pupils from the Manorbier and Jameston areas to school.
A number of parents have also commented on how pleased they are with the new service.