Membership FAQs

To be eligible for CTA membership you must be based in the UK and:

• A charity, community group, voluntary organisation or social enterprise working for the benefit of others, not for financial gain, or;

• A public sector body such as a Local Authority, Transport Authority, Health Sector Trust or Board, Town or Parish Council or a primary, secondary school or sixth form college.    

If you are a not-for-profit organisation you must have the following:

• A constitution or memorandum and articles. (These are documents that set out your aims and objectives and how your organisation operates.) 

• A governing board with at least 3 non-related directors/trustees/committee members

CTA introduced permit only membership in April 2024. To be eligible for this membership you must not provide transport as your main function, and you must have a restricted closed membership. 

A closed membership is defined as having either a time limited joining period and/or a maximum number of participants.  People should not be able to access the transport on an open basis. Examples of closed memberships are: 

• Schools - which only serve current pupils
• Scout groups - which have fixed joining times and limits on participants

An example of a membership that would not be restricted or closed is:

• An organisation supporting adults with sight loss, where the only requirement is that either the adult or a family member has sight loss, and participants can join or leave at any time.

Since this membership is newly introduced, the CTA will continuously review this definition. Your feedback on this is greatly appreciated.

For not-for-profit members, CTA requires that the governance structure of not-for-profit organisations follow the VCFSE sector good practice in ensuring that there is a minimum of 3 non-related directors/trustees/committee members. ​    By ensuring this it means that organisations have; ​ 

• Diverse Perspectives: A minimum of three non-related individuals on a social enterprise or charity board fosters diversity of thought and experiences, enriching decision-making processes. ​ 
• Conflict Prevention: This practice reduces the risk of conflicts of interest, ensuring that personal or familial concerns do not compromise the organisation's mission. ​ 
• Enhanced Transparency: External board members bring impartial perspectives, promoting transparency and accountability in decision-making and financial practices. This, in turn, builds trust among stakeholders and the public. 

We do recognise there are some situations where this isn’t possible, make sure to tell us on the application form.  

We approve and process new membership applications regularly throughout the week and aim to process them within 10 working days. Once processed, membership packs are emailed out. If we have a query on an application, one of our team will get in touch with you to check details which can sometimes lead to a short delay in processing the application; our memberships team will keep you fully informed of timescales if this is the case. 

Membership passwords, to access the Members’ Area on the website, are emailed out as soon as a membership application is processed, meaning you can access things like permit application forms and book onto member events before you even receive your membership pack in the post! If you are renewing your membership see the FAQ ‘What happens when my membership is due for renewal?’  

We determine the membership band based on the gross annual income of your whole organisation (not just the transport service) at the point that your membership is due for renewal. We will use your most recently published accounts to see this or we will request your latest set of accounts. We review membership bands on an annual basis at the point of renewal.

If you are a registered charity or a registered company, you do not need to provide any documentation. We check the appropriate Regulator website(s) for your organisation’s full details.  Where we are unable to check an appropriate Regulator website(s), we’ll ask for your latest set of accounts.  Public bodies and state funded primary, secondary schools or sixth form colleges may not need to provide any documentation. 

When membership is approved, we will send a confirmation letter and advise the membership start date. It will run for one year to the end of the calendar month e.g. if we approve membership on 19 January it will expire on 31 January the following year.

You’ll be notified no later than 20 working days before your membership is due to expire. A written invitation to re-join will be sent to the email address that you have given to us. If you miss this invitation, we also email you the month after your membership has lapsed with a reminder. 

In order to have access to our member benefits such as booking onto member only events, our publications and permit application forms you will need to visit the members area of the website. This can be found at the top right of our website, marked Log In.

No, some of our services are available to non-members. However, there are significant products and services that are member only benefits. You can find out more about becoming a CTA member on our website or contact our membership team on 0161 351 1475 or email [email protected].

We are currently reviewing the members area of the CTA website so you are not currently able to access your organisation's details online.  If you wish to add new contacts please email the details to us and we will ensure they are sent relevant member communications. 

We are currently reviewing the members area of the CTA website so you are not currently able to update your organisations details online. Please email [email protected] with any alterations you wish to make.  

Unfortunately not. CTA is a designated permit issuing body meaning that we can only issue permits to our members. This also means that for your permit to remain valid you need to ensure continuity of your membership with the CTA. Please be aware that membership of CTA does not guarantee you will be issued with a permit these are considered separately to membership and have additional criteria. 

You can find the current issue of Together, the Journal of the CTA and previous issues along with advice resources in the Members’ Area. We do not recommend printing and storing advice leaflets as they are updated online if and when changes in legislation or best practice occur. The most up to date information can always be found in the Members’ Area of the CTA website. 

Each email we send includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom. Clicking this will update our records and we will no longer send you email newsletters. 

We are unable to offer this as our membership fees no longer include VAT. 

No, we do not store your credit card details or have access to them. These are only used during the payment process and all of your data is processed in accordance with the latest guidance on GDPR.

If membership is no longer required, it must be cancelled in writing via email to [email protected] at any time, however; we are unable to offer refunds. Please include your membership number in such emails.  You may find you still receive communications from us for a short while after your notification.