Telford Community Transport scheme to close next month

The board of trustees at Community Mobility Transport, based at The Liz Yates Centre in Lightmoor, said it had been an “extremely difficult decision” but the scheme was not financially viable and had been losing money for several months.

Despite desperate efforts to find funding to save the service, the trustees said they had been forced to announce the closure of the transport service which trades as Telford Community Transport.

The community transport service was launched in this form in 2000 and has since provided transport for hundreds of pensioners and vulnerable people across the borough. All of the scheme’s minibuses were wheelchair accessible and easily accessible for people who struggled with steps.

The closure has resulted in the loss of three part-time positions. All of the service users and volunteer drivers have been informed by letter.

Lesley Perks, development officer of Telford Community Transport said: “With deep regret I have to announce that Telford Community Transport will cease to trade on April 26th 2013.

“Our volunteer car scheme will also close on that day.

“This has been a very difficult decision for the board of trustees at Community Mobility Transport which has more recently traded as Telford Community Transport. It is not a decision which has been taken lightly.

“We will do all that we can to support those people affected by this closure and hope to introduce them to other service providers but we understand it will be a much missed service for some.”

Mrs Perks said the volunteer car service gave pensioners and disabled people the opportunity to get out and about, including attending hospital appointments at their own pace without the stress of organising their own transport.

The volunteer drivers would help them into the minibus or car and aid them to the door of the premises and often wait with them.

Mrs Perks added: “We want to assure our service users that we have worked tirelessly to try and maintain this service.

“We receive no support, funding or subsidies of any kind and can no longer afford to subsidise the service ourselves.

“Finally we would like to thank the volunteer drivers who have given up hours of their time to drive their own vehicles in order to allow the scheme to operate and more importantly give some level of independence to elderly, frail or vulnerable people across Telford.”

Mrs Perks said the scheme previously hired out their wheelchair accessible minibuses to Age Concern until Telford & Wrekin Council made the decision to take the contract in-house which resulted in a loss of income to the Telford Community Transport scheme.