Major cash boost for voluntary community transport group

Date published: 11/10/2005

£25,000 has been awarded to a voluntary Rochdale transport group by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority to help it develop the vital service it offers part of the district.

Rochdale Community Transport serves the Milkstone and Deeplish area, where unemployment levels are high and people have found it difficult to reach local facilities in the past. It is used by people to get to work and to health services. It also takes children to local schools and helps pensioners reach post offices to pick up their pensions.

The Authority's Vice Chairman and Rochdale spokesperson, Councillor Allen Brett, announced the funding at its Policy Committee meeting. He said: "Rochdale Community Transport provides a lifeline for local people and it's important that we support it.

"This funding will be essential to the future development of the service and will go towards providing training and developing the skills of the volunteers involved in the group. It will also make it much easier for them to pursue any grants that may be available to improve the service further.

"We are committed to helping community transport organisations develop so that they can secure their long term future."

Sohail Ahmed is the Secretary of Rochdale Community Transport. He said: "I'm delighted that Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority has given us this funding to improve the service we offer.

"Everyone who's involved in the group works voluntarily and I'm pleased that some of the money will go towards training us so that we are able to provide a better service. I'm sure that this funding will help us towards meeting the needs of a much wider range of people in the future."

The £25,000 being awarded to Rochdale Community Transport is part of a £215,000 county-wide fund, announced by the Authority earlier this year, to develop community transport schemes across Greater Manchester.