Written evidence from Shropshire Community
Transport Consortium (BUS 54)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 My name is Linda Cox and I am making this
submission in my capacity as founder and Chair of the Shropshire
Community Transport (CT) Consortium (ref a).
1.2 In addition to the CT Consortium, in the
last twelve years I have also been responsible for the setting
up, and running, of several other CT organisations in Shropshire.
These have included TESS (Transport for Everyone in South Shropshire),
The Shropshire Hills Shuttles and the 49Link. Both The Shropshire
Hills Shuttles and the 49Link were mainstreamed by the local authority
with the 49Link being rolled out as a service across the whole
of the county.
1.3 I currently divide my time between managing
Shrewsbury Dial a Ride and running a CT Consultancy. I represent
CT on the Board of the Shropshire Voluntary and Community Sector
Assembly and am a Board Member of the Shropshire Infrastructure
Partnership.
2. THE IMPACT
OF THE
REDUCTION IN
BUS SERVICE
OPERATORS' GRANT
(BSOG), INCLUDING ON
COMMUNITY TRANSPORT
2.1 Research undertaken by the Community Transport
Association (CTA), (ref b) shows that CT organizations nationally
claim nearly £3.7 million in Bus Service Operators' Grant.
It is my assertion that for many, this income represents the difference
between survival and closure. Voluntary and Community Sector organisations
run on very tight margins and often struggle to cope with rising
costs in areas such as volunteer management, insurance, heating
and lighting.
2.2 I know of at least one small, entirely volunteer
run, organisation in South Shropshire where the amount they claim
in BSOG is often equal to the amount of surplus they make each
year. It is, therefore, their only source of contingency money,
to be used, for example, to pay for any major or unexpected vehicle
repairs.
3. THE IMPACT
OF THE
REDUCTION IN
LOCAL AUTHORITY
GRANT SUPPORT
TO BUS
SERVICES AND
OTHER CHANGES
TO THE
FUNDING OF
LOCAL AUTHORITY
BUS SCHEMES
AND SERVICES
BY THE
DEPARTMENT FOR
TRANSPORT
3.1 Shropshire Council has been very supportive
of CT and regards CT as the safety net when rural bus services
are cut. The Council's Bus Strategy (ref c) for the next five
years (currently out for consultation) puts CT in the highest
priority band. The draft strategy states that:
"Community Transport is a priority service for
Shropshire and that regular reviews will be undertaken to ensure
the service is operated as effectively and efficiently as possible."
It recommends that;
"the Council continues to work with, and support,
community transport providers to deliver high quality, value for
money transport opportunities."
3.2 However supportive Shropshire Council is,
the level of grant the Council is able to make has been frozen
for the last three financial years, and will remain at the same
level in the coming financial year.
3.3 Over this same period diesel costs alone
have risen by 37% or 34p per litre (ref d) with no corresponding
increase in our support grants.
3.4 The costs of delivering a door to door service
in one of the most sparsely populated counties in England are
higher than those of more urban areas. Rural CT groups have to
travel further between pick ups and cannot increase passenger
numbers where potential clients are scattered widely across the
countryside.
3.5 Our
CT groups have made efficiency savings, and
make even more use of their volunteers where they can, but some
groups are now having to make cuts in their services.
3.6 One of the larger CT groups in the South
of the county has been forced to reduce its service to some of
the most rurally isolated people in Shropshire by 20%. My organisation,
the largest in the county, has cut paid staff and will do so again
in the coming year in order to maintain our service. We are becoming
more and more reliant on the good will of volunteers whose average
age is in the high 60s.
3.7 Over the years CT has benefited from central
Government schemes such as Rural Bus Challenge and those delivered
through the Countryside Agency. The withdrawal of these sources
of funding means that new services cannot be developed and that
there is no clear source of capital funding to replace our aging
fleets. We would acknowledge that in an ideal world provision
should be made to save for replacements but it is the nature of
the sector to spend all available income on providing the best
possible service. It has also been the case that many funders
would not give grants to organisations with relatively large reserves
even when the money had been put aside as part of a vehicle replacement
policy.
4. THE IMPLEMENTATION
AND FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS OF
FREE OFF-PEAK
TRAVEL FOR
ELDERLY AND
DISABLED PEOPLE
ON ALL
LOCAL BUSES
ANYWHERE IN
ENGLAND UNDER
THE CONCESSIONARY
BUS TRAVEL
ACT 2007
4.1 CT in Shropshire has been very fortunate
in the support given to it by the new Unitary Council. As part
of the development of the Unitary Authority, it was agreed to
give discretionary reimbursement of income lost as a result of
allowing concessionary bus pass use, to all CT groups across the
county. The Council was also persuaded by the argument that the
"fare multiplier" levied on commercial bus services
should not apply to CT as all our passengers are elderly, and
or disabled, and there was therefore no room for new usage from
accompanying fare paying passengers.
5. HOW PASSENGERS'
VIEWS ARE
TAKEN INTO
ACCOUNT IN
PLANNING BUS
SERVICES, AND
THE ROLE
OF PASSENGER
FOCUS IN
THIS AREA
5.1 When planning our services, all of the CT
groups in Shropshire undertake a process of questioning, listening
and review before, and after, any changes to our service.
5.2 External market research is expensive and
with tightening budgets, anything that is not directly concerned
with the day to day running of the organisation is seen as an
unaffordable luxury.
5.3 The Shropshire CT Consortium is a consultee
whenever Shropshire Council considers changes to its services.
5.4 It is my understanding that Passenger Focus
does not have the remit or resource to interact with CT, although
an independent review such as theirs would be welcomed.
REFERENCES
1. Shropshire Community Transport Consortium
Overview
Shropshire Community Transport Consortium has been
involved in community transport since 2004. The consortium has
a county wide role and has contact with similar groups in other
adjacent counties, for example a similar organisation exists in
Worcestershire. The consortium's membership includes seven bus
owning organisations and 25 car sharing schemes. The membership
is updated annually.
Terms of Reference
"Members of this group will be representatives
of non-profit making community transport (CT) operators providing
and supporting transport services in Shropshire. Members agree
to:
— (a) Meet
together on a regular basis.
— (b) Provide
information for the purposes of joint research and funding bids.
The consortium will:
— (a) Provide
a forum for discussion and sharing of experience.
— (b) Facilitate
joint working between operators.
— (c) Raise
the profile of CT services in Shropshire and promote services
to potential users and volunteers.
— (d) Share
information.
— (e) Initiate
research into sustainable CT models.
— (f) Put
together joint bids for funding.
2. The CTA State of the Sector Report for
England 2010
3. Shropshire Council Bus Strategy 2010
4. AA Fuel Price Report
January 2011
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