Liam Weatherill

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Liam Weatherill Manager East Durham Community
Transport
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• Community Transport
• How can we help?
• Improve access to services
• Improve access to employment
• Reduce transports CO2 emissions

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What is Community Transport? Community
transport covers a wide range of transport
solutions usually developed to cover a specific
travel need, typically run by the voluntary
sector for the local community on a not for
profit basis.
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• What does that really mean?
• CT is focussed on passengers not profit
• We operate in our own communities
• We know our passengers their needs
• We understand what is needed locally
• We are governed by our service users
• We provide affordable/accessible travel

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• Who benefits from CT?
• People who find it difficult to access
  other modes of transport.
• People with mobility problems, those who are
  vulnerable, have disabilities or who just
  cannot easily get from A to B.
• CT provides over 250,000 passenger journeys
  in County Durham per year and over 60 surveyed
  said CT or dont go

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• What makes CT a safe choice?
• All staff are CRB checked
• All staff are trained in disability issues
• Correct safety equipment is used
• Bespoke vehicles regularly inspected
• Risk assessments undertaken
• The needs of passengers is the focus

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CT Schemes County Durham
Wheels to work
Volunteer Car Schemes
DRT Dial-A-Ride
Group Hire
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Community Transport Across County Durham
Chester-Le-Street
Derwentside
Durham City
Weardale
Easington
Sedgefield
Teesdale
Accessible Minibus schemes Volunteer Car
schemes Wheels to Work schemes
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County Durham CT Operators ForumMembers

• CT Operators
• Minibus (Dial-A-Ride, Group Hire, DRT)
• Volunteer car schemes
• Wheels to work
• Durham County Council
• Plus, Guest speakers

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Typical Agenda

• Anchorage Systems Unwin presentation
• Round the table reports
• Durham County Council contracts
• CT Matrix (confidential)
• LTP2 - Community Transport element

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Basically, get together to..

• Share our experiences
• Voice our concerns
• Combine our strengths
• Reduce our weaknesses
• Move forward together

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• East Durham
• Community Transport

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CHIMPS
ED Youth Forum
Seaham Care Home
Travel Club
East Durham Community Transport 0191 5182633
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PATS Training
MiDAS Training
Safe/Versatile Fleet
jobCarz - Car Hire
East Durham Community Transport 0191 5182633
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• What is the aim of jobCarz?
• To Afford local people from Easington District,
  who are returning to work after claiming
  Incapacity Benefit, transport to access their new
  workplace through the provision of a car by
  JobCarz.

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• Evidence
• Government Over 2.6 million people claim
  incapacity benefit at a cost of more than 12
  billion a year to the taxpayer. It is
  economically rational to spend up to 62,000 on
  getting the average person on incapacity benefit
  into work. David Freud Future of Welfare.
• Regional We will focus intervention on the
  priority target groups of Incapacity Benefit
  claimants and those with disabilities. Voluntary
  community organisations are crucial in terms of
  delivery of activity in the area of economic
  inclusion. 70 of people from deprived North East
  Communities have no access to a car. Regional
  Economic Strategy Action Plan 2006-2011

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• More
• County Objective Our Challenge is to
  develop an integrated transport system to afford
  County Durham residents better access to jobs,
  leisure and services throughout County Durham
  and beyond. The County Durham Local Transport
  Plan 2006 2011
• District There are just under 10,000 Incapacity
  Benefit claimants in Easington District, an
  area where 37 of all households have no access
  to a car.
• Only 52 of men and 62 of women both live and
  work in the District with significant
  out-commuting flows to other parts of Durham.
  Sunderland takes one in six employed people from
  the District. The Sheffield Hallam Report

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• What is jobCarz?
• A cheap car loan scheme for people who have
  secured work after claiming benefits
• Referrals from Jobcentre Plus, Shaw Trust,
  City of Sunderland College, members of East
  Durham Employment Consortium.
• If accepted, they loan a Chevrolet Matiz
  1.0 SE (10 in fleet) for up to 3 months with
  follow up Personalised Travel Planning after
  loan

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•  
• Additionality
• Lift-share scheme Loanees encouraged to give
  lifts to people to/from similar locations.
• Benefit extends to whole family by affording them
  inclusion and raising their self-esteem.
• Awareness of barriers experienced by people
  leaving benefits and joining the workforce.
• Reducing the burden of benefit payments on the
  local/national economy, and increasing the GVA of
  Easington District.

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• Reducing CO2 Emissions
• Comparing private car travel and public transport
  throws up an interesting debate. In absolute
  terms of reducing CO2 it is always better to use
  a scheduled public transport service. This is
  because when you use a car the result is an extra
  journey is made and extra CO2 is emitted into the
  atmosphere.
• On the other hand, when you use public transport
  journey by bus, coach, plane or train the journey
  is always scheduled and would take place whether
  or not you travelled. So in real terms there is
  no additional CO2 emitted.

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• Reducing CO2 Emissions
• Community Transport
• Euro 4 engines in minibuses Speed limiters
• Minibus travel reduces individual emissions
• Larger buses often run with low numbers
• CT will embrace bio-fuels, electric vehicles, etc
  when they become a viable alternative.
• CT provides the right vehicles for the service
  required.

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•  
• Summary
• Community Transport offers people who are
  vulnerable, have disabilities or who are in some
  way disadvantaged, isolated or socially excluded
  the opportunity to access both affordable and
  accessible transport.
• Community Transport operates a quality passenger
  focussed service linking local people with the
  services in their communities and also offers
  access to employment, training and other modes of
  transport.
• Community Transport uses the right vehicles for
  the right jobs reducing CO2 emissions.