VACANCY
COMMUNITY TRANSPORT SUPPORT OFFICER
£21,519
– 24,646 per annum pro rata
Devizes based.
18 hours per week over 3 days
Community First
are looking for a well organised and motivated individual
to develop the local community transport network in order
that local people without access to transport can reach
essential services and facilities easier.
We require someone
with excellent communication skills and a ‘can do’
attitude who is able to forge strong working relationships
with a wide range of partners. You will have proven project
coordination skills and experience of working with community
groups.
The Community
Transport Support Officer will provide assistance such as
training, best practice advice, committee support and fundraising
guidance in response to development needs articulated by
primarily voluntary Community Transport groups in Wiltshire
and Swindon. You will also work with local communities and
local partners to encourage and support the introduction
and expansion of Community Transport services where no appropriate
conventional transport services currently operate.
There will be
evening and occasional weekend working so an ability to
travel around the County is essential for this post.
Closing date: 17th February 2012.
Interviews: 27th February 2012
To download a
job description, person specification, an application form
and general information on this post, please visit the Community
First website here.
For additional information, please contact Liam Tatton-Bennett
on 01380 732816 or ltatton-bennett@communityfirst.org.uk
Community First is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
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NEW COMMUNITY MINIBUS SERVICE STARTED
The Community
First Community Transport team recently provided some advice
to Oare Primary School about running a community minibus
service and setting running costs for such a service.
Community First
recently learnt that the school is now co-ordinating the
lease of a minibus to transport pupils to and from the school
in place of taxi collections. As part of the service, the
School provides some home to school transport on the minibus
on behalf of Wiltshire Council which supports the viability
of the service. Other seats on the bus are available to
pupils who live out of the schools’ transport catchment
area. The new minibus is also is allowing the School to
provide a much wider range of school trips than previously.
The School is also looking at potentially sharing the minibus
with other local community groups.
The bus was officially
‘christened’ by Devizes MP Claire Perry on 16
December and the project is being coordinated by Oare (&
Bishop’s Cannings) Good Neighbour Co-ordinator Jackie
Rowberry.
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WHEELCHAIR VEHICLE M P V
TRANSPORT FOR THE HOUSEBOUND
Local
communities’ charity Community First, is helping wheelchair
users in Wiltshire to get out and about through the hire
of a wheelchair accessible multi purpose vehicle (M.P.V.).
Based at Community First’s offices in Devizes, the
M.P.V. can be driven using an ordinary car licence and it
can carry up to four passengers plus one wheelchair which
can be wheeled straight into the vehicle.
The vehicle is ideal for families who want to take a loved
one out for the day but who could not do so ordinarily because
the family car cannot accommodate a wheelchair user.
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The
vehicle is also available on a self-drive hire basis
to not-for-profit community organisations with or
without wheelchair accessible transport needs (such
as sports clubs, church groups, schools and groups
for older people).
The
vehicle costs 15p per mile plus £4.70 per hour*
to hire (*hourly charge only applicable when passengers
are being carried). A charge for fuel used is also
applicable.
For
more information, please contact Sheila Martin at
Community First on (01380) 732817 or e-mail transport@communityfirst.org.uk.
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WILTSHIRE
ALL VEHICLE SHARING SCHEME (WAVeSS)
The Wiltshire
All Vehicle Sharing Scheme (or WAVeSS for short) is a Wiltshire-based
scheme which acts as a ‘go between’ connecting
local community organisations that own passenger carrying
vehicles with local groups needing affordable transport
by brokering a virtual ‘pool’ of community owned
vehicles.
Funded by Wiltshire Council’s Post-16 Transport Partnership,
WAVeSS is designed simply to give community-based organisations
the chance to lend or borrow vehicles that are not being
used all of the time.
Based on a similar
established project in Gloucestershire, the main focus of
the scheme is on sharing minibuses although it is envisaged
that other passenger vehicles owned by community groups
will be incorporated into the scheme as it develops.
The scheme works
by taking care of all the business of making vehicles available
to the community (such as legal issues, vehicle bookings
and driver arrangements) before passing a fee to vehicle
lenders after each journey which can be put towards vehicle
running and replacement costs.
There are also
robust policies in place to ensure that vehicles made available
through the scheme are used responsibly and considerately.
The scheme is
primarily aimed at schools or colleges needing to provide
students with transport to work-based learning however it
is intended that community organisations of all descriptions
will make use of vehicles in the WAVeSS pool.
For more
information about the scheme please click HERE.
For a WAVeSS
Membership Application form for an individual please click
HERE.
For a WAVeSS
Membership Application form for a group or organisation
please click HERE.
For a Community
First and WAVeSS Membership form please click HERE.
For further information,
please contact Liam Tatton-Bennett on 01380 732816 or email
transport@communityfirst.org.uk.
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VILLAGE
SOS FUNDING
In the most recent
CTA Journal, the Plunkett Foundation are recommending that
any rural* community transport organisation that is planning
to expand or diversify should consider applying to the Village
SOS competition www.villagesos.org.uk
- an offshoot of the Village SOS initiative between the
BBC and the Big Lottery Fund.
The Plunkett Foundation and the CT sector have a long-standing
association: research they undertook with the CTA in 2006
was the basis for the Rural Social Enterprise Programme,
led by the CTA, which is today supporting eight rural CT
operators across England to develop new income streams.
The Village SOS
Competition will give around 250 awards of between £10,000
and £30,000 to kick start community businesses.
The initiative
wants to support inspiring business ideas that will bring
people together in villages across the UK and support activities
and enterprises that will tackle the challenges they face.
There are four
main entry requirements:
Your idea must
be for a community enterprise. Your village must be in a
*rural area i.e. with fewer than 3,000 people. Only one
entry per village will be accepted. You must be a Village
SOS member to enter the competition.
For further information please see www.villagesos.org.uk
or call 0845 434 9123.
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MINIBUS
DRIVER TRAINING - MiDAS
Most local community
groups who own a minibus will insist that drivers will need
to have some form of recognised minibus driver training
before they can drive their minibuses.
Community First
(based in Devizes, Wiltshire) is able to offer nationally
recognised Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme (MiDAS) training
to not-for-profit organisations who either own minibuses
or require the use of one. MiDAS is supported by the Community
Transport Association U.K. (CTA) and it promotes a widely
accepted standard for the assessment and training of minibus
drivers to enhance minibus driving standards and promote
the safer operation of minibuses. Since MiDAS was first
launched in the UK in 1996 over 150,000 drivers have been
trained to the MiDAS standard and this number continues
to increase.
MiDAS training ensures that your driver(s) skills are of
an acceptable level. It will also make them aware of the
legal, practical and safety issues surrounding minibus driving.
If your driver(s) need to use a wheelchair accessible minibus
then Community First can also offer an extension to the
standard MiDAS training to ensure that your drivers understand
how to use wheelchair accessible safety equipment properly
and how to safely transport wheelchair users in a minibus.
There is a theory and practical aspect to the MiDAS training
with the whole standard MiDAS training normally lasting
1 day (+ ½ day for drivers wishing to undertake the
accessible part of the training). If drivers reach the required
standard on their practical Assessment Drive and pass their
theory assessment they will receive a MiDAS certificate
which enables them to drive the minibuses of other organisations
that accept the MiDAS certificate without the need to be
re-assessed (there are over 3,000 organisations across the
UK that accept MiDAS).
MiDAS certificates
are valid for 4 years, after which drivers will need to
attend a MiDAS refresher training session in order to renew
it.
Community First normally charges £95 per driver for
standard MiDAS training. (Rates can be negotiated if you
have more than one driver to be trained.)
MiDAS training through Community First is available to any
UK-based not-for-profit organisation operating or using
minibuses.
If you would like further information, please telephone
Liam on 01380 732816 or e-mail transport@communityfirst.org.uk
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TRANSPORT
FUND OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS
Communities’
charity Community First has over £10,000 in its Community
Transport Small Grants fund to give away to local community
projects aimed at helping people to get around.
Backed by Wiltshire Council, the fund will provide grants
of up to £1000 to any community-based initiative which
helps local people without transport to better access places
and services which car users can take for granted such as
shops, doctors, youth centres, school activities, sports
events or community groups.
An example of an idea for a project might be an evening
minibus service for young people in a rural area which requires
help with the costs involved in getting the service off
of the ground.
Projects up to the value of £250 can apply for 100%
of the cost of a project from the fund and driver wages
can be paid if they are integral to a new service being
started up.
Existing community transport schemes such as Link schemes
and Community Minibuses wanting to reach new passengers
are also invited to apply to the fund.
Examples of projects include:
• Minibus equipment
• Driver training
• Development of new transport services
• Publicity to advertise transport services
• Costs towards mobile services and/or facilities
• Schemes which bring services closer to people (e.g.
internet)
• Research of local transport needs
• Contributory costs of recruiting volunteers or staff
Applications would be particularly welcome from projects
that benefit vulnerable, disadvantaged or isolated communities.
For more information please contact Liam Tatton-Bennett
at Community First on (01380) 732816 or e-mail transport@communityfirst.org.uk.
