Parliamentary Report leaves unanswered questions

The Scottish Parliament's Infrastructure & Capital Investment Committee report into their inquiry on Community Transport has proposed a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening provision and promoting best practice.

Community transport is a vital service through which local organisations provide transport for otherwise isolated older and disabled people where commercial services are not otherwise available or accessible.

Through the Charity's Still Waiting campaign, Age Scotland has called for the adjustment of the existing National Concessionary Travel Scheme to include all community transport operators.  This reflects the need for investment in a service which is a lifeline for many older people by tackling isolation, enabling individuals to reach healthcare appointments and generally improving the quality of life for many people for whom commercial bus services are of no use.

The report acknowledges that, particularly in light of the ageing demographics, there is a need to implement improvements to ensure the community transport sector can develop and become sustainable in the longer-term.

With that in mind, the Committee has proposed a number of welcome recommendations, including:

capital funding to support investment in the existing fleet of vehicles
calls for a more co-ordinated approach to patient transport
greater engagement between local authorities and third sector groups
research on the benefits of community transport and
opportunities to establish regional shared booking systems for services.

However, the Charity was disappointed that the Committee did not call for additional direct funding to grow the sector beyond its current capacity.  Instead, the report simply welcomed the Scottish Government's decision to "explore further the issue of longer term funding for the voluntary sector" and that they would "continue to monitor progress in this area".

Greg McCracken, the Charity's Policy Officer, said "In our ‘Still Waiting' campaign, Age Scotland proposed what we felt was a costed means of extending community transport services to ensure as many people as possible benefit from demand-responsive transport.  While further investment in the fleet would be welcome, many older, vulnerable and disabled people will be still waiting for transport that meets their needs.

"Without significant direct investment and given the likelihood of growing demand within the sector as a whole, it is difficult to see how we can expect community transport operators to respond to an ageing population across the whole of Scotland."

 Download the Committee Report