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Community Transport: Filling the Gaps for Those in Need of Mobility

Status of Publication: Published/Completed
Date produced: 2021
Authoring organisation/Author affiliation: Centre for Transport and Society, University of the West of England
Individual author(s): Shergold I
Type of Resource: Research
Impairment area(s): Pan-impairment
Transport mode(s): DRT/Community Transport/Dial-a-ride
Journey stage: Unspecified
Region: United Kingdom (not specified)

Document summary

This chapter considers community transport, flexible transport services found widely in the UK, offering mobility to those who might otherwise be unable to access and use conventional transport. Provision of targeted transport services for the mobility-disadvantaged is found in many countries, including Australia, Japan, and the USA, but a key feature of the UK approach is delivery by multiple, locally-based, socially motivated, and not-for-profit organizations. Other countries may use different approaches, for example, in the USA contracting commercial transport providers to deliver services. UK community transport provision has developed organically and piecemeal, but in other nations these services may be a broader response to equality or disability legislation. Commonly, community-style services are regulated in respect of users, and how they function. Across the world these vital mobility services face the challenges of growing demand and limited funding, but new technology and new models of operation hold promise for the future.

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