Arun has increased its budget for community transport

A Community Transport Plan was considered by Arun District Council’s housing and wellbeing committee on Thursday (6 October). The committee agreed to increase the current community transport budget from £7,000 to £11,500 by transferring some funds from the day centre budget.

Community Transport Sussex (CTS) will now work with the council on a plan to improve services in the district. CTS will work with existing providers, such as Arun Community Transport (ACT) which formed in 2018 following the collapse of the Sammy Transport and Arun Co-ordinate Community Transport merger.

During the meeting on Thursday, CTS representatives said Arun will be the first West Sussex district to have such a plan. Jacqui Cooke, development co-ordinator at CTS, said: “I’m sure that we all know at least one vulnerable person who struggles to get out and I’m sure we understand what impact this has on their life.

“Community transport is really important, particularly for our more vulnerable residents; it provides a solution for those that struggle to use mainstream transport to get out and about.

“Community transport schemes across Arun already help loads of people who are socially isolated and very lonely.

“Without this transport, they would not be able to get out and about, and they often say it’s the highlight of their week, whether it’s going to appointments or other social activities.”

Ms Cooke said the transport plan would help to create an ‘integrated and effective’ service.

This could include dial-a-ride, patient transport, and community car shares.

CTS also hopes to improve sustainability by using electric vehicles.

Bases for community transport could be opened in Drayton or Clapham as – while towns like Littlehampton have good community transport coverage – CTS identified gaps in the west of the district and north of the A27.

The charity also noted that local bus services ‘don’t meet most people’s needs’ due to timetables and affordability.

Matt Roberts, CEO of CTS, said: “Our passengers do pay a fare but it’s roughly a third of a taxi fare.

“Typically a dial-a-ride fare within a borough would be somewhere between £5 and £7, depending on the distance, for a return assisted journey.

“That journey costs somewhere between £18 and £22 to provide.”

Mr Roberts said community transport is much-needed to help people get to essential medical appointments.

One Littlehampton customer needed to travel to East Grinstead for an eye appointment and asked CTS when she would need to leave to get there in time.

CTS found out that she would have had to leave at 5.45pm the day before and book overnight accommodation.

Mr Roberts explained this was because it was ‘impossible to get there via public transport’.

Housing and wellbeing chair Jacky Pendleton (Con, Middleton-on-Sea) agreed such services are ‘essential’ for some residents.

Isabel Thurston (Green, Barnham) was ‘delighted’ about the new plan.

“Drawing all these services together I think is vital,” she said.

“It’s tragic that our public transport is not as good as it should be.”