We all know a minibus gets passengers from point A to B, but what else can it do? Well, it turns out it can change someone’s life too.

CTA Director for Wales spoke to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast on Monday 21st August alongside Aaron Hill, Wales Director for the Confederation for Passenger Transport (CPT), regarding the proposed changes to bus funding in Wales and the potential impact on passengers. Gemma has shared a little more about CTA Cymru’s focus in how we have been working alongside the Welsh Government, Transport for Wales, and local authorities in planning for the new ‘bus transition fund’ and thinking about plans for 2024 and beyond.

CTA’s Chief Executive, Dr Victoria Armstrong, writes about the invaluable impact of CT Volunteers and why more people should get involved.

With this year’s National Volunteers’ Week upon us, we are reminded to reflect on volunteers’ significant and invaluable impact on the Community Transport sector throughout the UK. 

Drushti is a 22-year-old international student from Mumbai studying at the University of Bath.  Coming to the UK without her family and navigating University life alone has been daunting and Drushti often felt out of place and isolated.

The Community Transport Association (CTA) calls on all community transport (CT) operators to prioritise robust maintenance programmes to ensure the safety and compliance of their vehicles on the road.  

This call has become paramount following the decision of the Traffic Commissioner to revoke the permits of a CT operating below the required safety standards. Based on the evidence provided by the Traffic Commissioner, CTA has now made the decision to revoke the remaining permits issued to the Operator.

There is no gainsaying that people deserve transport options that enable them to connect with their community, even if they have mobility-restricting disabilities or any other factor that may result in additional transport needs.

In October 2022 The Department for Transport (DfT) launched a call for evidence that sought views on potential opportunities to improve our driving licensing regime. They wished to explore whether there are any further opportunities that could be available to them that were partly due to the fact that we had left the European Union and had the freedom to change our legislation to improve our testing and licensing regime. 

CTA recently responded to DFT’s consultation regarding the ending of sales of non-zero emission minibuses, CTA welcomed the opportunity to provide evidence on the challenges in moving to a zero-emission fleet for the community transport sector, sharing our guidance on what an appropriate end of sales date might be, and add comment on the extent of government intervention necessary to accelerate the transition for our sector. To read the full response please follow the link here

Overview of our response

Welsh Government have set out their vision for the future of Wales’ public transport system in the recent consultation ‘One network, one timetable, one ticket’, which builds on the aspirations set out in Llwybr Newydd and Bws Cymru to deliver a truly integrated, inclusive and sustainable public transport network that works for everyone.

Following a sustained period of proactive engagement between CTA Cymru and Welsh Government, we have seen in the publication of Llwybr Newydd  and Bws Cymru that Community Transport (CT) is being recognised as a key element in delivering an integrated and sustainable public transport network for Wales, and opportunities to support the sector to grow and innovate are being set out.