Delegates from across the UK attended the first Community Transport conference in Manchester last week. Jonathan Welch was there on the first day to listen in
Held at the well-appointed Hotel Football, right next to the stadium at Old Trafford, the CTA’s brand new annual event, featuring a conference, awards and workshops (CT19) was a big success, with a large number of attendees from across the community transport and related sectors. The first day featured a number of guest speakers from organisations which provide, commission, or use community transport, to give an insight not just into the provision of the physical service itself, that is to say the buses and driver, but the reasons why it is such a valuable asset to local communities, and what benefits it provides in a wider social and economic context. There followed the CTA AGM, followed by an evening awards ceremony, whilst day two consisted of workshops on topics such as licensing and managing volunteers, among many other useful topics.
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A warm welcome
Welcoming guests to the conference, Community Transport Association (CTA) Chief Executive, Bill Freeman, said: “That so many people are here shows how important community transport can be. Many people from different organisations and backgrounds play their part. The idea that a community can shape its own transport is central to our work. It gives an insight into the people whose life is diminished by not being able to get where they need to be. One third of older people report transport issues. Through events such as this, we intend to inform, involve and inspire, and find more ways the sector can be strengthened.”
Bill reminded guests that whatever happens at the December general election, support for community transport goes across all parties, and of the importance of sector involvement when it comes to funding. “You have years of experience,” he said. “The government can’t do it alone, it has to include the sector, from the bottom up,” before suggesting ways that community transport providers might diversify and work alongside local and national governments to influence policies and provide new and bespoke services, such as accessible rail replacement.
Problems around commissioning
The first speaker of the afternoon was Tom Lloyd Goodwin of the Centre for Local Economic Strategy (CLES), who spoke about the systematic problems around commissioning community transport.
“There is an over-cencentration on cost, there needs to be a restoration of public values in public services,” he said, describing CLES as a a ‘think and do tank’ rather than a think-tank. Looking deeper, Tom suggested that the adoption of private sector management techniques and commercialisation of the community transport sector, combined with the effects of austerity, is not the way forward. “Social value is reduced to a tick-box exercise,” he continued. “We need to move away from this. We are starting to see a shift, a number of progressive institutions are starting to realise this,” citing Greater Manchester’s health and social care department, which has started putting social value into specifications.
Tom was followed by Nigel Rose, who brought another perspective as Strategic Lead on Commissioning for Manchester Community Central. “Community transport is not about transport,” he started. “It is about community benefit through the medium of transport.” He went on to ask: “How do we go about improving every element of the chain? When commissioning is done well,” he said, “it is often by commissioners who go out and talk to people, listen to what issues there are. Commissioners are often afraid to meet the users. It’s your job,” he told the audience, “to get them out of the office, show them what’s going on.”
Being the best you can
On the importance of social value, Nigel said that whilst many of those who commission the service have not got the idea yet, it is important to build in the social value when commissioning. He encouraged those making bids to consider the social value too, and not get bogged down in purely financial and cost-benefit matters. “Do it because you want to be the best organisation you can be,” he said, going on to encourage providers to consider and promote all aspects of what they provide: “Are your buses beautiful? Are they electric? Do you use all the skills of your drivers, can they sing…?”
In closing, Nigel suggested to those listening that you can’t influence commissioning or change how it works, but can influence individual departments and commissioners in the local area. CT groups should endeavour to work with the system, and help co-design the specifications with them, to provide the service that everyone wants to see, not just what the authority thinks it needs.
Sarah Leyland Morgan of Powys County Council gave an outline of the problems facing one of Wales’ most rural and largest counties, providing a valuable insight into the limited budgets available for community transport schemes, as well as the need to build and maintain trust between the CT sector and local authorities. “We have to ask what CT can do for us, and what is not possible. We need to be clear whether it is using volunteers, expectations differ and we need to be more flexible,” she said. The relationship with the private sector is also often a fraught one, and Sarah reminded attendees that whilst commercial operators need to make money to pay for buses, staff, fuel and maintenance, community operators need to deliver their services in the same way, and this should not be forgotten. Funding is a major issue; CT does not come free, despite what some of the major operators may think, he reminded everyone.
Orla Campbell, Head of Accessible and Community Transport for Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure, told delegate of the added difficulties of delivering a sustainable and reliable community transport network in the country, which currently has no sitting assembly to make decisions. Furthermore, there is a very important political backdrop to the sector in Northern Ireland, which means that it is very important to be seen to serve the whole of Northern Ireland equally.
Orla also asked the question ‘how do we measure success?’ It is a difficult question that other speakers also came back to, and it seems the answer is a difficult one. Whilst many are focussed on the activity, the input and the output, said Orla, how do we know if social value has been achieved? Whilst to an extent the benefit of a cohesive and co-ordinated transport system can be measured by factors such as savings elsewhere, it can be almost impossible to calculate the social benefit of such a scheme. “The people in this room know better than anyone the difference you make to the life of those who use your services,” she said.
Again underlining the point that community transport is not about the buses, but about the people, Anne Marie Payne, founder and project manager of London-based Hackney Brocals, spoke about how she has worked to found an organisation that deals with loneliness whilst providing a valuable service that helps older lonely males (hence ‘Brocals’ – local bro’s) get out and meet people, teaches them to drive the minibus (through Hackney Community Transport) and organises trips and events.
People powered transport
After a short break, the CTA’s Director for Wales and UK Lead on Research & Policy Campaigns Christine Boston spoke about the launch of the CTA’s People Powered Transport initiative.
“The destination is known,” Christine said, “but the route is not. There is a vision for the future of on demand shareable services. This innovation sounds a lot like what community transport has been delivering for decades, a responsive service that is seen as the future. It is time for community transport to stop being called on when everyone else has failed, it is time to lead the way.”
She went on to say that when we dig deeper, a bus service provides a valuable feeling of freedom, one which we forget to value until it is lost. The People Powered Transport project aims to turn this around, to show that community transport can lead to happier, healthier, more connected lives, which ultimately has far wider benefits than the bus service itself.
“There is a need for all partners to work together,” continued Christine, “to provide an integrated network of localised, personalised services. We need to make sure people have the confidence to make journeys.”
There followed a number of panel discussions and questions from the audience, and one thing was clear: the passion that everyone in the room had for the services they provide. Community Transport is often seen as just minibuses for old people, and it is this that presents an uphill struggle to be recognised as a valuable part of the local community in itself, as well as the wider benefits that follow. The CTA and its members showed that they are committed to improving the lives of the users, and of potential and future users, with commitment, dedication and passion for the buses, the services, but more than anything, the people: In last week’s CBW, we visited the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust. This week we attended CT19. Both very different organisations, but both serve as a reminder that no matter what kind of vehicle, what route or service you provide, and no matter how shiny your alloy wheels, this is very much a people business at its heart, through and through.
Awards
In the evening, at a dinner and presentation ceremony where some of those people, some of the many who get on quietly with their business across the country every day, were rewarded with recognition for their hard work and dedication, as the first winners of the Community Transport Awards were announced.
Organisations and individuals from across the community transport sector stepped up to receive their awards, including The Community Transport Provider of the Year category, which recognised an organisation who in the view of the judges demonstrated excellence in providing accessible and inclusive transport to their community, and had a positive impact on the local community, developing what they do and offering examples of best practice to the sector.
The winner was Community Transport Sussex, which was formed in 2016 when three local community transport providers, Crawley Community Transport, Bluebird Community Partnership and Horsham District Community Transport merged into one. As well as providing over 120,000 passenger journeys every year, CT Sussex has also been proactive in supporting and developing other community transport providers in the area, and welcoming them as members in the partnership.
As well as CT Sussex’s partnership and development work, the CTA’s panel of judges were impressed with the breadth of services offered: Working with West Sussex County Council and the local primary care network, CT Sussex is developing a project across health and social care to support as many residents as possible to be able to access medical appointments as well as projects working to provider greater access to the theatre, museums and cultural activities for disadvantaged children and their families. It also support a sheltered housing scheme to provide regular trips and days out to their residents. The judges were also impressed with the use of a local solar farm to charge its two fully electric vehicles as well as the work in running a project to provide a three dimensional map of community transport service provision across Sussex to establish where gaps in provision exist.
The Volunteer of the Year award went to Dennis Clayton, a volunteer at Daventry Area Community Transport (DACT), who has volunteered with the organisation since 2007 and in that time taken on the role of driver, MiDAS trainer, cleaner, ambassador, trustee, vice chair and chair of the board. The judges were particularly impressed by Dennis’s planning for DACT’s ‘Days Out’ service. Every four months, he produces a brochure which offers between 60 and 70 separate day trips ranging from pub lunches to visits to the coast. Every one of these trips needs costing and arrangements made with the venues for meals, parking, concessionary group rates and more.
Rob Kinning, Chief Executive at DACT, said: “He is an inspirational star who doesn’t just talk the talk but walks the walk. He is a selfless man with a big heart who has affected the lives of so many in our community. He is a man of great dedication: self-motivated, trustworthy and utterly reliable. He is a walking testimony to the value volunteers can bring to their community.”
The Community Transport Champion award was presented to Lilian Greenwood, who until recently (when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election) was the MP for Nottingham South and Chair of the Transport Select Committee, for her work to champion and raise the profile of community transport on a local and national level and has frequently talked in and outside of Parliament about the enormous benefits that community transport can bring to so many people.
As Chair of the Transport Select Committee, Lilian launched an enquiry into the Department for Transport’s consultation on the use of section 19 and 22 permits which culminated in a report from the Committee arguing it was ‘imperative to protect the provision of high quality, safe and secure local community services for people who might otherwise be left isolated.’ Lilian also called a Westminster Hall debate on the issue, bringing together MPs from across Parliament to show their support for the sector.
The Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises an individual who has had a deep and active involvement within the community transport sector over a number of years and was awarded to Andrew Kelly, who recently retired as the CEO of Westway Community Transport. Andrew’s community transport career began in 1991, setting up several community bus routes in the outlying area of Oxford with responsibility for training and leading their volunteer drivers. In 2002 Andrew was headhunted by the 11 year old Kensington and Chelsea Community Transport scheme, which later became Westway Community Transport. Under his leadership, Westway CT has thrived, with Andrew being instrumental in growing the organisation from a team of seven employees to a successful and sustainable social enterprise with a team of 60. Last year it delivered 324,450 minibus passenger journeys, 8,660 car passenger journeys, and 7,468 shopper journeys.
Andrew is passionate about the value of community transport as a tool for addressing social disadvantage and promoting community development, and has ensured that Westway CT has stayed fresh and contemporary, so as to appeal to all age groups and challenge stereotyping of users and services. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, his staff and volunteers responded swiftly and sensitively to assist with the transportation of donations and relocation of survivors. Andrew ensured that counselling and financial support was made immediately available to those of his team that had been directly affected by the fire.
Bill Freeman, Chief Executive at CTA said: “From under the Westway Flyover Andrew led by example, inspiring all those that worked with him to ‘go the extra mile, proving that community transport does indeed matter a great deal, especially when underpinned by quality, care and creativity.”
Recognition for many
Other award winners included:
- The African Community Centre, winner of the Volunteer Car Scheme of the Year, for providing free transport to asylum seekers in Swansea, when a return bus ticket could often take up around 80% of their daily budget;
- The Pembrokeshire Integrated Voluntary Organisations Team (PIVOT) for the Partnership of the Year Award, recognising a partnership of five organisations working to support people at home after a hospital stay; and
- Llanwrtyd Wells Community Transport, winners of the Serving Rural Communities award, for their wide-ranging work in rural Pembrokeshire.
Summing up the event as a whole, Bill Freeman said: “There are so many big questions facing our country and our communities – about how we are to live fulfilling lives, be happy, be healthy, feel connected, feel that we belong. For so many of those big questions, community transport can be part of the answer. Not just in the services we provide, but in the spirit and style in which we work – running our organisations and services in partnership with the people who benefit from them, involving our users in the democracy of our organisations.
“Self-help, self-responsibility, solidarity and equality – living and breathing these values-day in, day out. As we heard at our conference this afternoon, how many people say transport should be tomorrow is just like community transport is today. So in celebrating our sector tonight we are also showing we are confident about the part we can play tomorrow, next week, next year and beyond.”
CTA Awards 2019 Winners
- Community Transport Provider of the Year: Community Transport Sussex
- Volunteer of the Year: Dennis Clayton, Daventry Area Community Transport
- Serving Rural Communities: Llanwrtyd Wells Community Transport
- Volunteer Car Scheme of the Year: The African Community Centre
- Partnership of the Year: PIVOT (Pembrokeshire Integrated Voluntary Organisations Team)
- Doing Things Differently: The Hackney Brocals
- Photo Competition: Daventry Area Community Transport
- Community Transport Champion: Lilian Greenwood
- MiDAS Driver of the Year: David Gelson
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Andrew Kelly
More details of the awards, winners and the CTA can be found on the CTA website: www.cta.org/ctawards
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