£100,000 awarded to Shropshire’s community transport operators

Photo: Shropshire Community Transport Consortium

Shropshire Council has awarded £100,000 to Shropshire Community Transport Consortium to invest in and improve services across their network.

The Consortium represents seven community transport groups in the county.

The funding is from the £1.8m awarded from the Department for Transport (DfT) to Shropshire Council following the submission of its updated Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) in July 2024.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s deputy Leader, and Cabinet member with responsibility for public transport, said:

“Community transport groups play a pivotal role in transport provision across Shropshire and often provide the only means of transport for many isolated and vulnerable residents who are unable to access a traditional bus service.

“Currently community groups such as these are seeing increasing demand put on their services and we hope that this funding will assist them.”

The Shropshire Community Transport Consortium’s primary aims are to share good practice, improve standards and raise awareness of the role and activities of community transport in Shropshire.

All the community transport groups provide not-for-profit minibus services for those with a mobility impairment, there are differences in the scale and type of transport services each offers.

In acknowledgement of the huge importance of this provision, community transport representatives form part of the Shropshire Bus Enhanced Partnership led by Shropshire Council.