Welcome to Warwickshire County Council

What is Community Transport?

Community transport has evolved in response to the unmet transport needs of the residents of Warwickshire. Different types of services make up the community transport sector: Volunteer car schemes North Warwickshire Nuneaton & Bedworth Rugby Warwick Stratford-on-Avon Ring and Ride accessible minibus Rugby Warwick Dial-a-ride accessible minibus or MPV North Warwickshire Nuneaton & Bedworth Rugby Warwick Stratford-on-Avon Moped loan scheme North Warwickshire Nuneaton & Bedworth Rugby Warwick Stratford-on-Avon Timetabled services North Warwickshire Nuneaton & Bedworth Rugby Warwick Stratford-on-Avon Transport to employment schemes North Warwickshire Group hire and brokerage Rugby Warwick Stratford-on-Avon

Warwickshire is predominantly a rural county and community transport helps to provide additional transport opportunites for the residents of smaller settlements where, for example, it is no longer viable to run full-timetable bus services. But community transport also helps to overcome barriers to transport wherever they are found in urban settings.

A community transport scheme may provide services for as many different users as possible or focus on those with a particular destination in mind. For example, in the North Warwickshire Borough, about 80 per cent of the trips provided by the volunteer car scheme are for health-related purposes, the rest for shopping and leisure. Other operators run transport to employment services, regular shopping, leisure and group trips.

The costs of operating community transport schemes are covered by grants, local authority and/or partnership funding and, to a lesser extent, from the passengers’ fares. The schemes can only provide transport for people they ‘know’. Customers must meet certain eligibility criteria and then register – in effect, become members of the scheme. Secondly, when they want to travel, they will contact the operator to make a booking in advance. (This is very much the same booking procedure required when using, for example, taxi-cab services.)

Warwickshire’s timetabled Flexibus services and the Shipston Link are exceptions – you can turn up at the stop and go. And if you have a mobility problem which prevents you getting to the bus stop, ring in advance and the service will divert a little off its route to pick you up. Most community transport schemes ensure drivers are trained to high standards of care and assistance. The much respected MiDAS standard applies in many cases.

In general, all community transport services operate with the prime aim of meeting the needs of the passenger. The terms ‘flexible transport’ and ‘demand-responsive transport’ reflect what they set out to achieve. Where they are payable, joining fees are minimal and fares are very affordable or kept to the minimum necessary to cover costs.