Section 6 - Vehicles

Section 6 - A Summary of the types of vehicles used to deliver Community Transport

Vehicles are vital to Community Transport, whether owned by the CTO or volunteers. Most CTO vehicles are minibuses, but there are many other types of vehicles within the sector.  

In keeping with the accessible nature of Community Transport, three quarters of minibuses and four fifths of multi-person vehicles (MPVs) owned or leased by CTOs are wheelchair accessible. However, the fleet is ageing: two fifths of diesel vehicles are pre-2015. Moreover 42% of CTOs last purchased a vehicle more than 3 years ago. 

8% of organisations owned or leased electric, hydrogen or biofuel vehicles. Only 3% of all vehicles were electric, hydrogen or biofuel, and most were cars. There were several reasons of not owning Electric Vehicles, but cost was the key factor.

New vehicles are likely to be Euro 6 diesel vehicles but there are still a high level of older vehicles and a low number of new electric vehicles being purchased. Further research is planned to understand what is needed to encourage take up of electric vehicles, both in terms of understanding demand for this type of vehicle and suitable funding mechanisms.

Securing new vehicles is one of three main priorities for CTOs. CTA will continue to work with the sector, manufacturers, dealers and funders, to identify opportunities for suitable new vehicles and ensure that dedicated vehicle funding reaches CTOs.

To access the full breakdown of the vehicles used by Community Transport read the full report here

See the next section in the Mapping England report below