Community transport (CT) is a community-led solution to unmet local transport needs. In a rural county like Oxfordshire, the 75+ 
minibus and car schemes provide flexible and accessible transport services for many vulnerable and isolated people who otherwise have no other accessible or affordable means of accessing basic services. They are run mostly by volunteers – some are charities, and some are social enterprises. Community transport can be created for anyone to use!
CFO has supported CT for over 30 years. We continue to offer support, advice, and advocacy at a local level to raise the importance of the 1300 volunteers involved in CT in Oxfordshire by:
- Supporting Oxfordshire’s existing CT schemes
- Helping develop and mentor new CT schemes
- Facilitating CT network meetings
- Supporting the role of Parish Transport Representatives in the county
- Supporting the use of transport needs surveys
- Brokering free volunteer driver parking in OU hospitals and managing the OCTA hospital parking permit system
- Offering umbrella Public Liability Insurance for volunteer car schemes
- Circulating best practice advice from the Community Transport Association UK
- Working with partners such as the Oxfordshire County Council to get the best outcome for community transport schemes
- Advocating for community transport volunteers and users