Links & Information

Community Transport

Research~
Rural Accessibility - Transport Series

See Also
Transport

CTA Rural Staff In Scotland
Sheila Fletcher (Rural Transport Officer)
Community Transport Association
PO Box 5734
Dingwall
Ross-shire
IV16 9YL
Tel/Fax: 08707 743592
Sheila@communitytransport.com

Jill Brewer (CT Development Manager, Scotland)
Community Transport Association
46a Channel Street
Galashiels
Selkirkshire
TD1 1BA
Tel: 08707 743591
Fax: 08707 743584
Jill@communitytransport.com

Introduction
The CTA's Scottish rural work is funded by the Scottish Executive. It focuses on the same rural community development ideas that our work does in the other countries of the UK. However, in Scotland we also play a formal role in the Scottish Executive's rural funding for the community transport movement (see below).

Local Rural Development
Some of the rural areas of Scotland are the most remote and sparsely populated areas of the UK. In some places a trip to buy essential items such as a pair of shoes is a two day marathon if you have to rely on public transport. Scotland's largest council area, Highland, is actually the same size as Belgium. These are just a few of the factors that affect some of the most isolated people anywhere in the UK. Against this backdrop, the CTA is working to involve local rural communities in developing their own solutions to their own transport problems. Our rural staff in Scotland work closely with local authorities, council's of voluntary service, leading community transport operators and the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations on a wide range of issues, including:

• Project planning

• Constitutional issues

• Training

• Technical advice and assistance

• Funding issues

• Liaison with central government

• Local Transport strategies

• And much more besides …

RCTI Funding
The Rural Community Transport Initiative (RCTI) is now putting £1,000,000 per annum into rural community transport projects in Scotland. The application process for this fund is administered by the CTA's rural development staff in Scotland. These staff offer technical assistance to applicant groups in project development, business planning and service specification. They also assist groups in drafting and developing the funding proposals/applications, before they are assessed by the RCTI Steering Group who make recommendations to Scottish Ministers as to which applications should be funded.
RCTI changes in 2005

Small Projects Fund Application Form 2005 (Word)
This Word file can be completed on your PC and emailed back to the CTA
Small Projects Fund Application Form 2005 (pdf)

Rural Roadshows
The CTA's concept of Rural Roadshows was pioneered in Scotland. These small scale local events are designed specifically to deliver training and development workshops to small audiences in remote and rural locations. Typically, these events will consist of two training sessions and two development sessions over the course of a day and will cater for around 15 to 30 delegates who would not normally have the chance to travel longer distances to events such as the Annual Community Transport Event.

CTASCOT Egroup
A Scottish electronic discussion group is hosted by the CTA, which provides a forum for community transport operators and funders to explore issues of common interest. If you would like to join, or just find out more, please visit the home page for the discussion group at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/CTASCOT/.

CTA Scotland Newsletters
CTA started issuing quarterly newsletters in June 2004, which give information on news, events, and issues of interest to the community transport sector in Scotland. To download copies in pdf format please click on the appropriate link(s) below.
Click here for Newsletter October 2004
Click here for Newsletter June 2004