T4T | About Us

What is Transport for Tongue (T4T)?

Transport for Tongue Ltd (T4T) is a Community Transport organisation. This means the company is owned by the community and is run on a not-for -profit basis. T4T is a company limited by guarantee registered with Companies House (Company Number 415906, Scotland). T4T is run by a voluntary board elected by the members at each AGM (Annual General Meeting). Anyone living in the civil parish of Tongue, or who wishes to use any of T4T’s Services for which membership is required, can become a member of T4T and vote at the AGM. The company employs part-time drivers and administrative staff but much of the work required to organise and provide the service is done by volunteers.

How is T4T Funded?

T4T has received grants from the Highland Council towards running costs, and also major donations from The Big Lottery Fund and Caithness & North Sutherland Fund to enable it to purchase a new 15-seater disabled access minibus. The fares from the Registered Routes enable T4T to move towards self-sufficiency.

What are T4T's Objectives?

To provide a pre-bookable Door to Door Car Service.
To provide links to other public transport systems
To provide disabled access vehicles.
To provide group access to organised events locally and regionally.
To promote social inclusion.
To provide all T4T minibus drivers with full MIDAS training.

When T4T Started

T4T was founded in 2009 and incorporated in February 2012 as a Not for Profit company.

Where we are based

T4T operates in a unique location on the spectacular north coast of mainland Scotland. Lying to the East is John o Groat’s and Orkney; to the West is Cape Wrath and Durness. The Highland Capital City of Inverness and neighbouring Loch Ness lie 100 miles to the south.

Who are our customers ?

In addition to our local clientele, T4T customers include visitors who are here for a wide variety of reasons. This scenic region is tourist-friendly with many excellent B&Bs and Hotels, most of which serve tasty local produce including oysters and other freshly caught seafood. Venison and game meat is available from the Castle of Mey Selections and Highland Estates.

Some fine Malt Whisky Distilleries are within easy reach. For those interested in language and music, Gaelic culture is still strong, expressing itself in Ceilidhs and local Highland Games and Mods. Historians and Archaeologists are well-served with a profusion of brochs and ancient settlements, while the infamous Clearances still leave scars on the ground and in local memories. This is Mackay Country, and many of that clan return in search of ancestral roots – as do members of the Sutherland and Gunn clans. But it is, perhaps, the stunning scenery that is the greatest attraction. For hill-walkers, climbers, birdwatchers, and fishermen, this is paradise – with delectable mountains like Ben Loyal and Foinaven. The two most northerly Munros (Ben Hope and Ben Klibreck), dominate the region and offer a challenge to all keen outdoors folk.

There are famous salmon rivers like the Naver and Borgie, innumerable hill lochs with trout and charr, and just to the east is the Flow Country where the RSPB has a reserve for moorland birds. Geologists are well-served with some of the oldest and most complex rocks in the world, and the Moine-Thrust Geo Park straddles the road from Tongue to Durness. In an area where waterfalls abound, two are pre-eminent: the Falls of Shin near Lairg, where salmon can be seen leaping, and some little way beyond T4T’s current reach, the highest falls in Britain: Eas Coul Aulin, near Kylesku on the west coast. Traditional beach-loving tourists are also well-served with a profusion of clean white beaches (many excellent for surfing or whale-watching), and it goes without saying that artists and photographers can find inspiration in this corner of Sutherland!