PAVO is a membership organisation which supports the third sector,
part of that sector is those organisations delivering community
transport (CT). In Powys we continue to have the largest CT
sector in Wales supporting eighteen organisations to deliver more
than 30 services including section 19 & 22 minibus services,
community car volunteer driver schemes, taxi card & group hire
schemes. Many of the services operated in Powys have been
there for more than 30 years showing their resilience and ability
to adapt to change as well as realising the need within each
community. The sector is also governed by different
legislation under section 19 & section 22 with a view to not
making a profit, thus enabling the services to be operated without
the need for a PSV operators’ licence.
In the year 2014-15 we provided 104,413 passenger journeys to
7,694 members, many of whom have no other means of accessing
basic services such as their GP, shopping or social events. These
individuals often state how different their lives would be without
the door to door provision offered by the CT sector.
Bus services in Powys are being further reduced following financial
pressures for the LA to spend less, there is an expectation that
the CT sector may fill the gaps, however, Powys consistently
receives far less funding from Welsh Government for the delivery of
transport than most other counties despite there being greater
costs involved ( less people to transport over longer distances,
greater cost per passenger), therefore, BSSG to the sector provides
only a fraction of the required costs to cover the services being
delivered. It would appear far more sensible for the LA to work
with the sector in planning the most appropriate
services for those communities rather than looking to them all too
often as a last resort.
The CT sector is often looked to as a cheap alternative, however,
most of our minibus schemes operate using paid drivers, the type of
passengers being transported i.e. wheelchair users reduce the
loading capacity of the vehicles making the transport more
expensive.
Volunteer drivers in our community car schemes are a fantastic
asset, however, there is a limit to their capacity and we have also
heard concerns expressed as to the number of volunteers likely to
be available in the future. Most schemes in Powys report they
are currently in a reasonable position regarding the recruitment
and retention of volunteers, however, they believe as people remain
working later in life and pensions are not accessible until later,
there will be less incentive to volunteer.
The sector has experienced many changes over the years, with a
drive by LA’s to provide more contracted services and also a
move away from grants for both capital and revenue support.
Providing school contract work can have an effect on the original
purpose of the scheme i.e. providing a service for those who do not
have access to other forms of suitable transport.
Funding streams fluctuate for the sector and a consistent and
longer term approach would be welcomed. In Powys we were for
many years in receipt of the Community Transport Concessionary
Fares Initiative (CTCFI) funding which lasted almost eight years
and then stopped, we had LTSG, followed by RTSG, followed by BSSG,
we had capital funding for vehicle replacement, which lasted one
year then returned two years later only to be stopped. This
approach makes the planning and delivery of services more
challenging, made worse when we hear nothing until the financial
year has already begun.
We have seen a reduction in the number of trusts etc. willing to
support transport services, however, we have also seen how
resilient many of our groups are in either, offering additional
services, tendering successfully or raising money from recycling
services, charity shops etc.
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