The People We Risk Leaving Behind: Why D1 Matters

By Sally Lloyd Davies
Chief Officer, South Denbighshire Community Partnership
Trustee, CTA

I want to share with you the reality of being a Community Transport operator – and why D1 matters to small organisations like ours.

I would like to share with you a little bit more about our organisation to give you an understanding of what we do and why our Community Transport service is so important to the communities we serve in Corwen & Llangollen in Denbighshire rural North Wales.

What we do

Our primary purpose at South Denbighshire Community Partnership is community development. We deliver and develop activities and services that aim to improve people’s wellbeing, reduce isolation, improve access to services and help people remain as independent as possible for as long as possible in their communities.

In many ways, we operate in that important space of preventing or delaying the need for more formal health and social care support.

We deliver activities and offer space for services to be delivered from our own community centre; a centre we manage on behalf of the local authority and from a variety of outreach venues and locations.

Examples include social lunch clubs, exercise classes, school holiday provision, cooking classes, meals on wheels and prescription delivery services, educational classes, craft clubs, mental health support groups and advice services, alongside our Community Transport services.

Our minibuses, our trusty friends

Something we have consistently recognised over the ten years I have been involved with the organisation, is that it doesn’t matter how many needed services or lovely activities we provide if people simply cannot get to them. And this is what reality would be like if we were not able to offer Community Transport.

Public transport is fairly good along our main routes, but for people living in our more rural villages, or those living with disabilities or mobility difficulties, public transport is often simply not available or a realistic option.

And that is where Community Transport becomes so important.

We have just five vehicles – two minibuses, two cars and a food delivery van. But these vehicles, our trusty friends, all with their own loving nicknames like Bryan and Ffion, make an enormous difference for our communities.

Our two minibuses are particularly important because they allow people to travel together, access activities, make friendships and reconnect with their communities.

Where will the next generation of drivers come from?

However, despite increasing demand, we currently only have the driver capacity to operate our minibuses three days per week. And this is where the D1 licensing issue becomes very real for us.

Since COVID-19, volunteering has simply not returned to the levels we experienced previously. Recruiting volunteer minibus drivers has become particularly difficult for us. Finding people who already have the D1 entitlement on their driving licence is an enormous challenge.

Thankfully, two years ago we secured funding to employ paid minibus drivers, as we already knew without that our minibus services would not be possible due to no volunteers to drive them. Both of our paid minibus drivers are now in their early to mid-sixties and I find myself thinking…

• What happens when they decide it is time to retire?
• Who will drive our minibuses?
• How will our lovely community members get out and about?
• Where will the next generation of drivers come from?

We want to encourage younger people to volunteer, work and develop their skills within our sector. But the current licensing requirements create a significant barrier.

We have the vehicles. We have the demand. We have people who desperately need the service. But without drivers, none of that really matters.

Imagine life without Community Transport

I think sometimes, when we talk about licensing, regulations and policy, we risk losing sight of the people behind those discussions.

If I could ask you to now imagine, for a moment, that the people I am talking about are your own parents, grandparents or someone you love.

Imagine living alone in a rural village.

Imagine no longer being able to drive, perhaps because of age, ill health or disability.

Imagine knowing that there are activities, friendships and opportunities just a few miles away down the road in your village or nearest town, but there is no way of you getting there.

For some of our members, our community minibus is their opportunity to leave the house, meet friends, enjoy a conversation, have a laugh and feel part of something again.

Audrey’s story

Last year, we collected a series of stories from people using our services. One story really struck me. It was from an 89-year-old lady called Audrey living on the outskirts of Llangollen.

Audrey’s story was captured by one of our team visiting Audrey in her own home and chatting with her about what her life was like before, her history and what life was like now.

Audrey had lost her husband eight years earlier, had given up her car and, with her family living far away, was increasingly reliant on neighbours to help her get out.

She has mobility difficulties, which meant even getting down the hill from her home was a real challenge.

When we asked what life had been like before using our community transport, she described it as “very, very lonely”.

She spoke about being stuck within the same four walls during and after COVID-19 about losing that everyday connection with people in her community.

Audrey was a lady who had spent years volunteering and supporting her local health centre, yet suddenly found herself increasingly disconnected from the community she had contributed so much to.

But then she started using our Community Transport. She began getting out again, meeting people, going on the weekly shopping trip, going to the gentle exercise class and lunch club, having conversations and enjoying the simple things many of us take for granted.

And when we asked what difference, this had made, she said something that has really stayed with me:

“I am able to see people again and socialise, my life feels whole again.”

And she was no longer alone, she was connected with others, her community and felt part of something again.

Sadly, Audrey is no longer with us. But while she was with us, she gave permission for us to share her story. And I know if Audrey was still with us today, she would want to make sure people knew what Community Transport means to so many.

The people we risk leaving behind

For people like Audrey, and so many others, our minibus is not simply a vehicle. These are not just journeys. It is a lifeline and the difference between loneliness and connection.

These are opportunities for people to remain independent, maintain friendships, feel valued and stay connected to their communities.

And when we talk about the potential loss of Community Transport services because we cannot recruit drivers, these are the people we risk leaving behind.

We cannot wait

We cannot wait until community minibuses are parked up, services are cancelled and people are left isolated before recognising that something needs to change.

We are talking about who gets to leave their home. Who gets to see their friends. Who gets to remain independent. And who gets to continue being part of their community.

That is what is at stake and why change is needed now. The cost of losing that connection, both personally and to our already stretched health and social care services, could be far greater than the cost of helping people access it.

And that is why I believe we need the UK Government to act now to secure the future of Community Transport.