A Derbyshire charity providing vital transport to hospitals, care homes and isolated rural villages for the disabled and elderly is set to cease trading after nearly 30 years, putting more than 60 jobs at risk.
Derbyshire Community Transport, registered in 1996, operates a number of key local bus services on behalf of Derbyshire County Council, has previously run special educational needs and disabilities transport in Derby, and continues to ferry thousands of people a year around the county and city – typically to and from hospital or health and care facilities.
The charity has hit financial hardship and has confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it is set to cease trading in two weeks time on Thursday, October 31.
A spokesperson for the charity told the LDRS: “We are highly likely to cease trading by the 31st October due to financial reasons.
“Staff have not yet been given notice but we are consulting with them all on the risk of redundancy (there are around 60 in total).
“All our contracted services are being re-tendered and we are hopeful that new providers can be found for as many of them as possible.
“We are working with individual staff members to minimise redundancies and we will support them to transfer to new providers where this is possible.
“It is a tough financial environment for community transport operators and DCT has been unable to survive the challenges it has faced.”
The charity’s last financial update, to March 2023, had shown signs of positivity, with a Covid recovery bounce back in public transport usage.
It showed 105,446 passengers for the year (46 per cent up), 16,236 journeys (15 per cent up) and 353,604 miles covered (24 per cent up).
The accounts detail that it owns 31 vehicles with 16 based in Chesterfield and 15 in Ripley, with the charity registered to Marehay.
It employs 67 people, with seven people on full-time contracts and 60 in part-time roles, supported by 16 volunteers.
The charity runs the PF1/PF2 Park Farm route including Darley Abbey in Derby; the SP1/SP2 around Spondon; the 78 Chesterfield to Spondon; 143 Belper to Ripley/147 Ripley to Street Lane; and 148 Ripley to Alfreton.
As of March 2023, the charity had an income of £1.485 million, leading to a surplus of cash of £55,434 and a general reserve (rainy day fund) of £224,186, saying that its “principal” source of funding was county council contracts.
Cllr Charlotte Cupit, county council cabinet member for highways assets and transport, said: “We’re aware that DCT have indicated their plans to cease trading by the end of October and we’re doing all we can to find operators to take over the services DCT currently deliver for us.
“This includes the 147 and 148 services, Derbyshire Connect in the East of the county and trial Demand Responsive Transport service in the Bolsover, Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire area.
“We understand this is an unsettling time for those who use the services and we’re already in discussion with operators, running the relevant tender and contract processes. We hope to have more news on these plans shortly.”
A message from county officials shared by Derbyshire Labour, details: “They (DCT) are very keen to work with us over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition of services, and we are doing all we can to find operators willing to take over the services they deliver for us.
“Our public transport team are doing all they can to find operators for all of these services and we are working hard on this as we understand how important these services are to the community.”
It says DCT holds a few contracts to take older or disabled adults to day centres, and one to take a child with special educational needs to school.
Cllr David Williams, an Amber Valley borough councillor, said that while the news was “worrying” “there are grounds for optimism” with the county council having previously been able to pass bus routes Ripley, Heage, Ambergate, Crich and Matlock, once held by the charity, to Stagecoach Yorkshire.
