Community Transport Week 2026: Ideas from across the sector
Community Transport Week 2026 takes place from 12–16 October.
This year’s theme, Driving Communities Forward, celebrates the people, organisations and partnerships that make Community Transport possible. Across the country, organisations are getting involved in all sorts of ways and there are plenty of ideas others can take inspiration from.
From celebrating volunteers and sharing passenger stories to engaging schools, local communities and elected representatives, Community Transport organisations are finding creative ways to mark the week.
We’ve been asking organisations to share their plans for #CTWeek26. Here are some of the ideas coming from across the sector.
Put your people at the heart of the week
Community Transport is about people and CTWeek is a great opportunity to put the people who make services possible front and centre.
Sheppey Matters is planning a daily social media campaign featuring the impact of its services, alongside messages and stories from drivers and passengers. The organisation is also hoping to invite a local councillor, mayor or MP to spend a day travelling with the service, building on a successful ride-along with a local councillor during last year’s Community Transport Week.
Community First is taking a similar approach, planning to share case studies featuring passengers, drivers, volunteers and staff. The stories will highlight the difference Community Transport makes across Hampshire, including the people who use its Group Hire service. In addiction, they have created a "Day in the Life of a Minibus Driver" feature giving a behind the scenes look at how they help the community stay connected.
HcL Transport will also be be using CTWeek26 to shine a spotlight on the people behind its community transport services. Throughout the week, HcL plan to share stories from passengers, staff and volunteers across their social media channels, highlighting the difference their community bus services make and celebrating the people who help keep them running.
Similarly, Walsall Community Transport will be celebrating the people behind their services and showcasing the impact of their shopper trips, day outings and accessible transport. They plan to share stories from passengers whose lives have been positively changed through increased independence, reduced isolation and stronger community connections. In the middle of CTWeek, they will be unveiling their new programme of day trips for the year ahead, creating even more opportunities for people to get out, stay connected and enjoy new experiences.
Short stories, photographs and videos can be a simple way to show what Community Transport looks like in practice and, most importantly, the difference it makes to people’s everyday lives.
Celebrate your volunteers
CTWeek is also an opportunity to say thank you to the people who give their time to keep services moving.
Care Lochaber Community Car Scheme is planning an afternoon tea for its volunteer drivers – a chance to recognise their contribution and celebrate the role they play in their community.
VASA will also be celebrating the volunteers who make their services possible, with four volunteer events taking place across the region during CTWeek26. The events will give VASA an opportunity to thank and celebrate its drivers in person and recognise the contribution they make to keeping their communities connected.
A volunteer celebration doesn’t have to be elaborate. A thank-you event, a series of volunteer profiles, a collection of messages from passengers or simply sharing photographs and stories online can all help shine a light on the people behind the service.
As part of our CTWeek resources, we have created a 'Celebrate your Driver' template which you can download to showcase your wonderful drivers on social media!
Invite people to experience Community Transport for themselves
Community First has reached out to its local MP about taking part in a ride-along, giving them the opportunity to meet passengers, drivers and staff and see the service in action. The organisation plans to capture photographs, video and social media content from the visits.
Inviting local councillors, MPs, community partners, funders, businesses or other stakeholders to experience a journey can help build understanding of what Community Transport does and the challenges it faces.
It can also create an opportunity to talk about wider issues affecting the sector, including CTA’s campaign to reform minibus driver licensing rules and the importance of good-quality driver training.
HcL Transport will be represented at CTA’s AGM and D1 Reception at Westminster, with its CEO and Deputy CEO attending on 15 October as CTA continues to make the case for a practical, sustainable solution to the D1 licensing challenges facing the sector. They are also having their own AGM on Monday 12 October which will also provide an opportunity to recognise its staff and trustees as CTWeek26 gets underway.
Wyre Forest Community Transport are also inviting their local MP to experience community transport first-hand, joining a minibus run supporting adults with learning disabilities to their activity centre. The visit will then continue at their base, where the MP will meet staff, volunteers and trustees and hear more about the organisation’s work. Alongside the visit, Wyre Forest will use CTWeek to shine a light on different aspects of their work through daily social media posts, including thanking their volunteers and highlighting their funding needs.
Sheppey Matters will also be joining CTA at our AGM and D1 Reception at Westminster with their local MP Kevin Mckenna.
Help us put Community Transport on your local MP’s agenda this CTWeek! Invite them to visit your organisation during the week using the template letter in our CTWeek resources. You can also invite your MP to our Westminster reception on Thursday 15 October, whether or not you’re attending yourself – we’ve provided email templates to help.
Show your impact
Numbers can help tell a powerful story.
Community First is planning an infographic showcasing the impact of its services over the past year, using figures such as passenger journeys, miles travelled, volunteer hours, groups supported and areas covered.
For CTWeek26, VASA will be taking the Driving Communities Forward theme to Parliament and out into their own communities. On Tuesday 13 October, they will be presenting at a roundtable in Portcullis House on the role of community transport in helping people reach healthcare. MPs from across Warwickshire and Solihull are attending, along with colleagues from CTA, other community transport organisations, local authorities and health partners.
They will be sharing what volunteer driver services mean for the communities we serve, using their own figures: over 16,000 journeys, 20,000 passengers and 369,000 miles in 2025/26. Their ask is for formal recognition of volunteer drivers as essential infrastructure, and for community transport to be protected through local government reorganisation, so that rural and isolated people keep their access to hospitals and GP appointments. They would also like to leave with a commitment to keep the conversation going with the MPs in the room.
Think about the figures that best demonstrate the difference your organisation makes. How many journeys have you provided? How many volunteers make it possible? How many miles have been travelled? How many communities, groups or people have you supported? These figures could become a simple social media graphic, newsletter feature or event display.
Take Community Transport into schools
CTWeek is an opportunity to introduce a new generation to Community Transport.
Yellow Buses/Coalfield Community Transport is exploring ways to engage children and young people with the theme of Driving Communities Forward. The organisation has created five minibus cartoon characters and is considering a 'Name the Minibus' competition, alongside interactive Community Transport lessons for schools at different stages.
Activities like these can help young people understand what Community Transport is, why it matters locally and the different roles people can play within the sector. Schools can also provide an opportunity to talk about careers, volunteering and the wider contribution of transport to communities.
Connect Community Transport with careers
Airport Transfer Card Ltd are planning to run careers talks, invite local employers and host a careers fair for students.
This is another way to use CTWeek to reach people who might not otherwise know about the range of opportunities connected to Community Transport. Whether it’s driving, administration, community development, operations, volunteering or working with passengers, organisations can use the week to showcase the people and skills that keep their services running.
Get your story into the local media
Community Transport Week is a ready-made opportunity to tell your local community what you do.
Care Lochaber Community Car Scheme has issued a press release to promote CTWeek26, with its story appearing in Westcoasttoday.co.uk and the Lochaber Times.
A local media story could focus on a milestone, a volunteer, a passenger story, the impact of your service or something unusual you’re doing for CTWeek. It’s also worth thinking about what makes your organisation and your community distinctive.
Download our press release templates, here.
Bring people together
CTWeek doesn’t have to be limited to online activity.
In Greater Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Community & Voluntary Service's consortium meeting will take place during the week, followed by a celebration event to share successes with community colleagues. This will then lead into a public showcase of Community Transport services and opportunities to get involved.
Bringing operators, volunteers, partners, supporters and the wider community together can create space to celebrate achievements, share learning and build new connections.
Medrwn Môn will be celebrating Community Transport Week with a special event in partnership with Anglesey Council on 15 October.
The morning will bring together volunteer drivers, paid Community Transport drivers, Good Turn Scheme representatives and local councillors for an informal session, with CTA’s Michelle Clarke joining them for the morning and lunch. In the afternoon, they will host a drop-in session, giving people the opportunity to meet their Car Link Officer, Volunteer Officer and Grant and Information Officer, as well as view one of their electric vehicles.
Throughout Community Transport Week, Medrwn Môn will also be showcasing its volunteers, drivers and projects across social media.
Celebrate a milestone
Sometimes you already have a reason to celebrate.
Hampshire Transport Management, working with Hampshire County Council, is using CTWeek to mark a major milestone for its MiDAS Driver Training team by presenting its 2,000th MiDAS Certificate.
They plan to mark the occasion with a special photograph featuring the team, the 2,000th milestone sign and the organisation completing the driving assessment. Milestones like this can make excellent CTWeek content, particularly when they provide an opportunity to thank the people who helped make the achievement possible.
There’s no one way to celebrate CTWeek
The plans shared with us show just how many different ways there are to get involved in Community Transport Week. You could:
- Celebrate your people with volunteer, driver, passenger or staff stories.
- Invite a local representative to experience Community Transport first-hand.
- Show your impact through figures, infographics or a year-in-review.
- Engage young people through schools, competitions or interactive activities.
- Promote careers and volunteering within your organisation and the wider sector.
- Hold a celebration or showcase event for your community.
- Share your story with local media.
- Celebrate a milestone or achievement.
- Use social media throughout the week to share photographs, videos and stories.
You do not need a big budget or a packed programme to take part. A single passenger story, a thank-you to a volunteer or a photograph of your team can help show people what Community Transport means in your community.
Get involved in CTWeek26
Community Transport Week takes place from 12–16 October 2026, with this year’s theme Driving Communities Forward. If you’re planning something for CTWeek, there’s still time to get involved.