Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has agreed a new deal to supply the Blind Veterans UK charity with five new Transporter shuttles.

The new vehicles will be used to transport service veterans around the UK to the charity’s three centres in Brighton, Llandudno and Sheffield.

Blind Veterans UK provides visually-impaired Armed Forces and National Service veterans with the tailored support they need to discover life beyond sight loss by delivering life-changing practical and emotional support. Blind Veterans UK's work ranges from helping veterans relearn vital life skills and providing them with the tools they need to be independent in their own homes, through offering new learning, training and recreational opportunities to providing long-term nursing, residential and respite care.

The new sixth-generation LWB Transporter shuttles are comfortable and spacious, allowing the charity to transport up to seven veterans at a time, while access in and out is made easier thanks to retractable steps and grab handles. In addition, three of the vehicles have also been converted by the charity to allow for wheelchair access. BlueMotion Technology comes as standard, and thanks to excellent residual values, the new Transporters deliver excellent whole-life costs making them a safe investment for a charity where every penny counts.

Chris Kirk, transport and bookings manager at Blind Veterans, commented: “As a charity we need to ensure that we spend our money wisely at all times. With this in mind we must ensure that we select the most cost-effective, reliable and fuel efficient fleet we can. Working with Volkswagen we have not only been able to select the right vehicles to suit our transport needs, but also safeguard our investment through the brand’s excellent residual values and low whole life costs.”

Gary Norman, deputy bookings and transport manager at Blind Veterans, commented: “Our vehicles are often the only way for our veterans to get to and from our centres and therefore play a vital part in the service we provide. We have a long-standing relationship with Volkswagen, purchasing over 35 vehicles, so when looking to source our new vehicles the decision was easy. As fleet reliability and build quality are of great importance, based on our previous experience Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is a natural choice.

“Volkswagen’s aftersales service was also key to our decision. We have received superb service from our local Van Centre, Eurovans in Crawley, and this was another reason for us staying loyal to the brand.”