Report: Serving Northern Ireland – Community Transport During Coronavirus

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Community transport in Northern Ireland has changed significantly since March. With social distancing and isolation measures in place, core services have predictably declined, with parallel impacts for both operators of CT services and their passengers.

To gather a more detailed picture, we conducted a series of interviews with our members in Northern Ireland to assess how services have shifted and to hear about the hard work operators have been doing to meet new needs. The report also shares some heartening stories from passengers, as well as local authorities and new community groups who have partnered with CTs in recent months.

Download the Report Here

Report summary:

• Like the rest of the UK, all passenger transport services have declined considerably between March and July, though some core services have resumed to some degree since restrictions changed in August
• Where CTs have been unable to transport passengers, they have been delivering a wide array of essentials and staying in contact with users through the phone
• All members interviewed were keen to emphasise their gratitude towards the Department for Infrastructure and DAERA for maintaining their funding, but urged that there needed to be an increase in funding levels for the next financial year to enable CT to continue to be viable.

Bill Freeman, CTA’s Chief Executive, said:

“I am so proud of what our CTA members in Northern Ireland were able to achieve in the spring lockdown and what they continue to do. In the face of challenging circumstances, community transport continues to work hard to deliver what is needed all over Northern Ireland. Our members are stepping up, adapting their services and delivering for their communities at this crucial time.”