From 12 to 16 October, we’re celebrating Community Transport Week and all the organisations, staff and volunteers helping disabled people make the journeys they choose – while highlighting how community transport is about much more than getting from A to B.
Why community transport is important
For many disabled people, it can mean getting to a healthcare appointment, seeing friends and family, accessing education or employment, taking part in activities, or simply having the freedom to make the journeys they choose.
Our commissioned research into community transport found that these services can play an important role in supporting independence, reducing isolation and helping people access the things that matter to them.
Jane Bishop, Executive lead of North Norfolk Community Transport said:
“By offering door-to-door services like our Dial-a-Ride and Wheelchair-Accessible Transport Services, people can access essential local services, get medical attention, go to the shops, and connect with family and the wider community. Requests for trips are varied but we will always help if we can.
“One lady, who is partially sighted, wanted to take her daughter to see a new college. And there's a lady who likes to go to a weekly knitting group in town. It is so good for her mental health to have that repeated connection.
“It is also lovely to see the relationships develop between drivers and their regular passengers. One lady has bad arthritis, so we always send Barry. She has a very high level of pain, but she trusts him because he knows exactly where the bumps in the road are. She won't travel with anyone else. He knows exactly how to assist her.”
What does it take to keep community transport moving?
Accessible vehicles are important. But a sustainable community transport (CT) service means more than that.
It needs skilled staff and volunteers, strong organisations, sustainable funding, collaboration and the ability to adapt to changing needs.
That’s why our Shared Transport funding supports organisations in different ways from vehicle provision and service delivery to workforce development, organisational sustainability and building stronger partnerships. Our Building Resilience funding is specifically supporting organisations to strengthen how CT works for the long term.
We are supporting WATBus to develop a coordinated CT network across Northumberland, helping operators work more closely together and improve access to accessible vehicles.
These are different approaches, but they share the same ambition: helping build a CT sector that can continue to meet people's needs into the future.
There’s no single solution to improving transport options
That’s why our Shared Transport funding supports organisations in different ways and at different stages from helping provide accessible vehicles and deliver services, to strengthening organisations, supporting volunteers and developing new approaches.
Across our 2025 funding rounds, we awarded £6.36 million to 27 organisations working to improve transport options for disabled people and communities across the UK.
And our latest awards show the breadth of that work:
In Scotland, Positive Help is using funding to facilitate and expand an accessible, supportive volunteer transport service for disabled people living with HIV across Edinburgh and the surrounding Lothians.
In England, Swansea Council for Voluntary Service is increasing its pool of volunteer drivers to help expand its community transport service.
In Northern Ireland, South Antrim Partnership is using funding to recruit and train drivers to provide transport for adults and young people with disabilities, helping them access further education, employment, day opportunities and community activities.
And in Wales, South Denbighshire Community Transport is using sustainability funding to strengthen its organisation and expand its services.
Together, these projects show that investing in community transport is not just about putting more vehicles on the road. It's about supporting the people, organisations, partnerships and ideas that can create more transport options for disabled people.
We're proud to be supporting the organisations making that happen.