A practical case study - Rochdale CT

The best way of illustrating how our services fit together to transform an organisation is probably to cite a practical example.

As part of the Greater Manchester Communities on the Move project, commissioned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) and delivered by us for CTA UK, we began work with Milkstone Community Transport in August 2004.

Milkstone Community Transport originally began as an initiative in Rochdale's Asian community, using community volunteers to take girls to a faith school in Bolton.The voluntary management committee then found it did not have the correct structures in place to meet legal requirements for operating minibuses.

The work began with an organisational review by TfC staff, which identified the development and support needs. Subsequent hands-on help from TfC staff helped the management committee to develop the systems and procedures needed to meet legal requirements. Following this, TfC staff assisted with incorporation as a company limited by guarantee and helped them apply for registration as a charity.

Following the theft and total loss of one of their vehicles, TfC project staff applied for, and negotiated the provision of, a replacement from GMPTE.

The next stage was to help the volunteers staff and management committee improve their management and operational procedures. Discussion with key personnel from the scheme, along with officers from GMPTE and the local authority produced a clearer picture of the organisation’s aspirations for the future.

TfC staff then distilled these aspirations into a draft business plan that, after consultation, comment and amendment, was adopted by the organisation for use as a strategy document in supporting applications for funding

During the development of the plan, a considerable amount of work was also done in bringing together all stakeholders (local council, regeneration agencies, PTE officers, other CT operators and voluntary sector agencies) to agree a structured approach to developing community transport in the borough.

This work has continued following the end of the GMCOTM project, with TfC commissioned by GMPTE to provide further direct support and advice to the project.

Now renamed as Rochdale Community Transport (RCT), with staff in post, RCT plans further to extend their operation to the wider community, working with GMPTE to identify gaps in the bus network. TfC has continued to work with the management committee to develop successful bids, securing over £320,000 of capital and revenue funding from the GMPTE CT Trust Fund, SRB6, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and the Big Lottery Fund.