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PROJECT CONTACT DETAILS:
Monica O’Malley Manager Longford Community Resources Limited Templemichael Ballinalee Road Longford Co Longford
Tel: 043 45555 Fax: 043 44093 Email: [email protected]
DECLARATION
This business plan has been prepared by Longford Community Resources Limited and has been approved by the Board. The information contained herein is accurate to the best of our knowledge and belief.
Signed:
______Chairperson
______Manager
Date: ______
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SUMMARY
Area covered by the project
The area covered by the project is the whole of County Longford excluding Longford Town.
Organisation and management structure:
The application is submitted by LCRL which is the joint Partnership and Leader Company for the county and which will have the contractual responsibilities for the implementation of the project and the disbursement of funds. A Project Steering Committee, chaired by a Board member of the Partnership, will take responsibility for the day to day operation of the project. There are two advisory groups, one for each of North and South Longford.
History of achievements and experience:
A study undertaken by LCRL led to the establishment of the North Longford Transport Working Group and funding was received under the RTI in 2002 to enable the appointment of a Rural Transport Co-ordinator and an office was opened in Granard, Co Longford. From 2003 to 2005, 8 rural transport routes were provided and this expanded to 10 in September 2005. A second study was undertaken of South Longford in 2006 and funding was secured to operate a further 7 routes. These were launched in October 2007. In 2006 the total number of passenger journeys in North Longford was 9,793 and this had grown to 12,726 by the end of December in 2007. This includes the newly launched South Longford routes.
Aims and ethos of the project:
The project aims to address social exclusion and to contribute to rural development through widening travel choice and promoting social inclusion. It operates on the principles of equality, social inclusion, community development, synergy, quality, implementing best practice and value for money.
Identified gaps in rural transport provision:
•To enable people outside Longford to travel to work in Longford Town •Transport from outlying areas to enable people to access further education and training opportunities in Longford and in the larger towns and villages •Health related transport, especially to Tullamore hospital and to hospital appointments, visiting patients, day care etc at hospitals and day care centres in Longford Town and Mullingar •Transport to allow people to attend VEC adult education courses
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•Transport for all, but especially young people, men and elderly, into social, recreational and shopping facilities in Longford and the larger towns and villages •Transport for people with disabilities for a wide variety of reasons •Transport to enable mothers to take children to childcare facilities in the larger towns and villages •13 DEDs have absolutely no transport infrastructure and a further 12 have at least 15% of their households without access to a car.
Other key transport issues in County Longford:
•The current rural transport services provided in North and South Longford are excellent and much appreciated by users but the disadvantages include that they operate at fixed times and on fixed days and cannot leave passengers close to their destination in Longford •There is considerable unused vehicle capacity within the County •There is a shortage of provision of fully accessible transport in the County •There is an absence of collaborative working among providers especially in the community and voluntary sector •There is both a need and an opportunity to provide appropriate training to drivers and passenger assistants •Lack of awareness of what transport opportunities are actually available.
Proposed activities, 2008-2010:
•Maintenance of existing services and optimisation of capacity •Improvement to operations through introduction of computerised scheduling •Creation of a dedicated website for the Initiative •Further provision of local services to meet needs of groups such as young people, students, adult learners and trainees •Introduction of social car scheme and taxi voucher scheme primarily to address issue of travel to hospitals in Mullingar and Tullamore but also to target people currently not served by any of the existing routes •Support for community initiatives including local transport planning and community minibus pilot scheme •Establishment of new routes from outlying towns to Longford Town to facilitate workers on a fare paying basis
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•Division on a self-financing basis of existing service provided by National Learning network into two separate routes to allow wider usage and links with other education and training requirements •Improvements to accessibility among some vehicles to facilitate people with disabilities.
Expected costs:
Over the next three years the total expected costs of the project are estimated at €1,613,514.
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1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1.1 LONGFORD COMMUNITY RESOURCES LIMITED
Longford Community Resources Limited (LCRL) is a local development company whose objective is to promote positive social, economic and cultural development throughout County Longford. LCRL has managed and administered the LEADER II and Local Development Programmes and the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programmes in the county from 1995 to 2000. Since 2000 LCRL has managed and administered the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme, LEADER +, National Rural Development Support Programmes, Longford Traveller Project and the Millennium Fund to support 3 rd level disadvantaged students. LCRL also managed the Community Application of Information Technology from 2000 to 2002.
1.2BACKGROUND TO THE RURAL TRANSPORT PROGRAMME
1.2.1 The Rural Transport Programme is a response by Government to the unmet transport needs of rural dwellers in Ireland. The National Rural Transport Survey in 2002 suggested that almost 400,000 rural dwellers perceived themselves as having unmet rural transport needs and these needs were particularly prevalent among certain groups such as older people, young people, people on low incomes and people with disabilities. It is projected that an estimated 450,000 rural dwellers could have unmet transport needs by 2021.
In 2002 Government introduced the Rural Transport Initiative through funding from the Department of Transport and with (at that time) ADM managing the Initiative. The aim of the RTI was “To encourage innovative community-based initiatives to provide transport services in rural areas with a view to addressing the issues of social exclusion in rural Ireland which is caused by lack of access to transport.”
The Initiative led to the introduction in parts of the country of a wide range of semi- scheduled and fully demand-responsive services delivered through a number of different service models. These 34 services provided over 650,000 passenger journeys in 2005 on 75,000 service trips which supplied transport for between 25 and 35,000 users. Some facts about service delivery are:
•47% are pre-booked •43% are door to door •80% are scheduled trips
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•53% of users are over 66 years of age and 20% are between 26 and 65 years of age •46% of services are fully accessible.
1.2.2 A small selection of the projects is set out below to reflect the diversity of approaches:
Bantry Rural Transport has four accessible minibuses which were funded through the NDP and FAS and other agencies. The project also makes use of existing vehicles owned by other agencies and one of the services now provided is a partnership with the VEC to take Youth Reach students to education centres.
Dial a Lift Service Demand Responsive Taxi Service in Avondhu is a subsidised accessible taxi service for people with physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities and is contracted out to 2 private hackney/taxi operators. Members of the Avondhu Dial- A-Ride club who are people with disabilities receive a monthly mileage allowance of 20 free taxi miles.
CLASP Community Car Scheme operates in the Lough Arrow Region of County Sligo and has a pool of nine voluntary drivers who are paid a mileage allowance and have enhanced insurance cover for providing transport using their own cars to enable service users access health, social and shopping services.
Kerry Community Transport contracts 22 private providers and manages the “Kerry Flyer” a Social Economy project which owns four buses, three of which are fully accessible. Over 60% of other services offered are for social, shopping and health related activities. Among the services provided are the co-ordination of transport for some FAS trainees, services for a day care centre and services for an After School facility.
Clare Accessible Transport services 2,200 registered members who make some 3,000 trips per month. The project owns four low floor buses and two buses converted to bio-fuel. It employs 18 full and part-time staff. The HSE has supported the project with capital funding towards buses and service agreements.
1.2.3 The Rural Transport Initiative was regarded as successful and consequently in February 2007 the Initiative was renamed the Rural Transport Programme and is now being mainstreamed across the country so that national coverage will be achieved on a phased basis. Some €90 million has been set aside under the new National Development Plan to fund the Programme.
The principles on which the Programme is based include:
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•The social and economic transport needs of the community should be addressed
•The proposed provision must be available to the public generally in the target area
•Proposals should complement rather than compete with established services
•Potential for meeting needs of mobility impaired people should be explored
•Innovative solutions using IT technology are considered for funding
•Locally sourced co-financing elements are encouraged and expected
•Voluntary and community organisations and community partnerships are participating, some in conjunction with their local authority or the HSE.
1.3 RURAL TRANSPORT IN LONGFORD
Because of its objective of promoting positive social, economic and cultural development in the county and because of its commitment to tackling social exclusion and supporting community development activities for target groups LCRL established a Transport Study Group in September 1998 to carry out a study of transport difficulties experienced by rural communities in County Longford. A number of rural transport initiatives were actively researched and supported including the development of a CIE hospital service from Longford to Tullamore via Mullingar on a daily basis.
1.3.1North Longford
Research identified the North Longford area as particularly lacking public transport and this led to the establishment of the North Longford Rural Transport Service in 2002. A successful application for funding to the Government’s Rural Transport Initiative was made and allowed for the appointment of a Rural Transport Co- ordinator in January 2003 and the commencement of 6 routes in March 2003. Two
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additional routes were added later that year and two further routes in the following year following additional research.
The routes provided in North Longford are:
1.Gowna to Cavan Town or Aughnacliffe to Longford (alternative weeks) 2.Moyne to Aughnacliffe to Longford (linking to Bus Eireann services) 3.Moyne to Arva, Co Cavan 4.Colmcille to Aughnacliffe 5.To Granard from Abbeylara, Mullinalaghta, Bunlahy and Dring regions 6.To Drumlish and Ballinamuck from surrounding regions 7.Lisryan and Lismacaffrey region to Granard 8.Ballinalee region to Longford (linking to Bus Eireann services) 9.Kilcogy and Annagh (Co Cavan) to Cavan town 10. Glan and Mullahoran (Cavan) to Cavan town
The end of year internal progress report for the North Longford Rural Transport Initiative for 2006 can be summarised as follows:
•10 services are provided and are a mix of Ring a Link (6) and Demand Responsive (4) provision
•Additional Christmas shopping trips were provided in December to Longford and Cavan Towns
•Total number of passengers carried in 2006 was 9,793
•The mix of passengers is 20% male and 80% female
•90% of passengers are Free Travel Pass Holders
•Average number of passengers carried per 14 seater bus is just under 9
•Passenger feedback has been very positive as has been feedback from professionals such as Doctors and Public Health Nurses
1.3.2South Longford
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In 2006 LCRL was approached by community groups and the Longford Older Peoples Network to seek assistance with rural transport provision in South Longford. LCRL received funding under Leader + to conduct a study for South Longford and this was completed in April 2007. The study led to funding being provided for 7 new routes in October 2007.
Routes provided in South Longford are:
1.Newtowncashel or Lanesboro to Longford on alternative weeks 2.Kenagh region to Longford 3.Legan region to Longford 4.Ardagh region to Longford 5.Newtowncashel to Ballymahon 6.Lanesboro region to Lanesboro 7. Abbeyshrule/Legan to Ballymahon
1.3.3 Previous evaluations
In 2004 Fitzpatrick Associates reviewed the North Longford RTI and the consultants found that the project had made good progress with the group benefiting from the ongoing management and support of LCRL in terms of day to day management and overall strategic direction. The project was found to be “very effective in targeting those most in need and to have used existing community structures to promote services locally.” Passenger numbers exceeded targets and unit costs per trip were lower than the national average. It was recommended that innovation in the project required attention but overall the conclusion was that the project had performed well to date and had a good vision for future progress.
In 2004 Westbic were commissioned by LCRL to undertake a review of the initial pilot phase of the project and in summary this review concluded:
•The initiative has been exceptionally successful in addressing social exclusion target groups
•The initiative has contributed to rural development through, for example, enhancing the sustainability of local transport providers post offices and small shops, enhancing the sustainability of smaller towns and encouraging local residents to become involved in local community development
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•The initiative has been very successful in addressing the needs of female passengers
•There has been a reduction in car journeys
•Community groups have benefited from additional funding for transport and this has resulted in, for example, increased attendances at events and activities
•The sustainability of town to town connections has been enhanced
•Access for rural residents to larger towns has increased thereby allowing people to avail of services which were previously not accessible to them.
1.3.4Summary of performance
To the end of December 2007, the figure for passengers carried on all Longford routes was 12,726 and of these 10,460 were provided to Free Travel Pass holders.
1.3.5 Future plans
Following a review conducted by Pobal in 2007 LCRL were given permission to expand and deepen the provision of rural transport services into the rest of the county. This strategy sets out the future direction for rural transport provision in County Longford.
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2. ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES
2.1 PRESENT STRUCTURE
The present organisation structure is that LCRL is a private local development company with charitable status and is the legally constituted contractual body for the delivery of the services and disbursement of the funding. LCRL employs the staff engaged on the project and the LCRL’s financial administrator manages the financial budgeting and planning for the project. The North Longford Transport Working Group is responsible for the guidance and operation of the initiative and has been involved in local research for new routes, in marketing and promotion of the services, in partnering and liaising with other groups and in evaluating user needs on an ongoing basis.
The North Longford Working Group has 14 members including representatives from community groups, voluntary representatives, older persons groups, some statutory bodies. It also includes the Manager and 1 board member from LCRL. A full list of members is set out below:
Monica O’Malley LCRL Ann Chapman Teagasc Oliver Cassidy Granard Brendan Brady Granard Josie O’Rourke Granard Maura Sheridan Granard Breege Mulfaul Cloonagh Mary Farrell Lower Ballinalee Helen Gorman Aughnacliffe Sheila Duffy Moyne Mary Gillooley Drumlish Pat Donnelly Ballinamuck Mary Brady Bunlahy/Ballinalee Rita Nannery Kilcogy Seamus Lee Transport Co-ordinator
The North Longford Working Group sends copies of the minutes of its meetings to the LCRL Board and this system helps the Board of LCRL to identify new opportunities and address future sustainability aspects.
There is also a South Longford Working Group which came together for the purpose of supporting the South Longford RTI Study and has 17 members including
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representatives from LCRL, the North Longford RTI and the local community sector. A full list of members is set out below:
Monica O’Malley LCRL Sean Ahern LCRL Seamus Lee LCRL/North Longford RTI Theresa Costello Lough Rea Development Group Liam Finnegan Newtowncashel Rural Development Group Sean Farrell Newtowncashel Rural Development Group Charles Harrison Kenagh Community Co-op Limited John Channon Ardagh Active Age Mai Reilly Club 91 – Ballymahon Eileen Reilly Club 91 – Ballymahon Phil Donohue Edgeworthstown SCC Sean Hennessy Newtowncashel Resident PJ Dowd Newtowncashel Resident Nan O’Dowd Newtowncashel Active Aged Group Betty McGoey Abbeyshrule District Development Association Rory Gallagher Ballymahon Family Resource Centre
The management structure is that overall managerial responsibility rests with the Manager of LCRL who line manages the Rural Transport Co-ordinator. The Co- ordinator is supported by a project worker, also employed by LCRL; both these staff operate from an office in Granard.
2.2 REVIEW OF STRUCTURE
A review of the structure was completed in May 2007 by Pobal and the report of the facilitator included the following comments:
•All governance systems and responsibilities are in place
•Well represented by senior citizens
•Charitable status
•Conforming to Pobal monthly report requirements
•Working group has no effective authority as everything is referred to LCRL for decision
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•Need to consider representation from other groups e.g. youth, disabled, sports etc.
•Working Group only meets 2-3 times a year and this may not be adequate
•Need for customer satisfaction system
•Need for computer system
2.3 PROPOSED CHANGES
It is proposed to make the following changes to the organisation and management structures:
A new County Transport Steering Committee, under the auspices of LCRL, will have day to day responsibility for the management of the scheme. This will include responsibility for governance matters, financial management and human resource management.
There will be two Advisory Groups made up of users and providers, one each for North and South Longford.
2.3.1 County Transport Steering Committee
The new County Transport Steering Committee will be chaired by a member of the Board of LCRL and membership has been determined to ensure it is as representative as possible of all stakeholders and facilitates the development of strategic alliances. Membership will include:
The new County Rural Transport Steering Group will include membership from the following: •2 Representatives from the Board of Longford Community Resources Ltd and its Manager. •1 Representative from each of the following agencies: the HSE, FAS, VEC and National Learning Network. •1 representative from the Community & Voluntary Sector •1 representative agreed by the Farming Organisations .
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•2 representatives from each of the 2 Advisory Groups (North and South Longford) •1 representative from the Longford Older Persons Network •1 representative from the Youth Forum •1 representative agreed by the following organisations that work with people with disabilities (Centre for Independent Living, Disabled People of Longford, Irish Wheelchair Association (Longford Branch) and St Christopher’s). •1 representative from the transport providers in the County •2 passenger representatives**
This gives a total of nineteen. It is proposed that the position of chair should rotate every three years and that one third of the appointed members should retire each year and be eligible for re-election.
The County Transport Steering Committee’s responsibilities will include:
•Delivery of the strategy
•Researching and recommending new routes
•Promotion of the services
•Maintaining community involvement
•Selection of contractors
•Monitoring performance
•Oversight of finances
•Risk management
•Funding submissions
•Reporting to LCRL quarterly and annually and supplying LCRL with information to allow it to comply with Pobal reporting requirements.
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The County Transport Steering Committee will prepare a detailed annual action plan in September of each year and submit this for approval to the Board of LCRL. Once approved, the Committee will have authority to implement the action plan but will need to seek approval from LCRL for any significant proposed changes.
The Committee will meet monthly.
Once the Committee is appointed, a training needs analysis of the members will be undertaken and an appropriate training programme for members designed based on the analysis. The programme will relate to areas such as corporate governance, financial controls, health and safety, procurement, human resources, planning and evaluation.
2.3.2Advisory Committees
There will be two Advisory Committees, one each for North and South Longford and it is envisaged they will each meet on a quarterly basis. Although these will replace the existing Working Groups it is expected that they will include the existing members of each of the two Working Groups but will be structured to ensure they include community representatives, representatives of target groups such as young people and people with disabilities, passengers in the locality and transport providers. Membership terms of the Group will be open-ended and will be open to the whole community. Each Group will elect its own officers but ideally the groups will be chaired by the nominees who sit on the Project Steering Group. The advisory groups will have the following functions:
•Collect and represent the views of users
•Assisting with the identification of new routes and/or the amendment of existing routes
•Monitoring service delivery
•Assisting with the promotion of the services, for example by drawing on their local knowledge to identify potential new users
•Liaising with other organisations and voluntary groups with an interest in local transport
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•Nominating two people to sit on the County Transport Steering Group
•Acting as a two way channel of communication between the local areas and the County Transport Steering Group
•Maintaining a cross-sectoral and equal representation of members.
2.3.3Premises
In order to demonstrate the new county-wide nature of the rural transport service, rather than a service for North Longford, which is the current perception, the staff of the RTP will move from Granard where they are presently based and be located in offices in Longford town. This is also because the organisations with which the staff are in most contact are based in Longford town and because they will be able to access LCRL’s resources more easily. A town location will also facilitate line management of RTP staff by the Manager of LCRL. Finally, the re-location will increase value for money through the reduction in travel costs incurred in frequent travel to and from Granard.
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3. VISION, PRINCIPLES, MISSION STATEMENT AND AIMS
3.1VISION
To date, the RTP in County Longford has concentrated on the provision of sub- contracted transport on a number of routes across North and South Longford but the intention now is to move beyond this comparatively narrow approach and to take the view that Rural Transport Provision encompasses many more responsibilities and actions. The Longford County Rural Transport Project will be involved in much more developmental work, looking, for example, at more innovative ways of meeting rural transport needs, either directly or indirectly, it will adopt an advocacy role and will proactively involve communities more directly in meeting rural transport needs.
LCRL’s vision for rural transport in the county therefore is:
“Rural dwellers throughout Longford have sustainable, affordable, reliable, accessible and convenient transport at times which enable them to have an acceptable quality of life.”
The principles, aims and objectives as set out below reflect this new wider interpretation of the Project’s role.
3.2PRINCIPLES
LCRL proposes to manage progress towards the vision through the following broad principles:
•Equality; ensuring all services are accessible to all within the rural community
•Social inclusion; targeting resources at those groups most socially excluded in the rural society
•Community development approaches: ensuring local community involvement in and engagement with the design and delivery of services and operating with a high level of voluntary commitment
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•Quality: maintaining a customer focus through customer care and user involvement, monitoring service delivery standards
•Synergy: working collaboratively with all other organisations involved in rural transport and maximising the use of existing resources
•Implementing best practice: keeping abreast of new developments, learning from the experiences of others and sharing the experiences of the Longford project
•Value for money: targeting resources effectively to address the most pressing needs and operating services efficiently and effectively.
3.3MISSION STATEMENT
The Mission Statement for the Longford Rural Transport Initiative is:
“To assist in combating social exclusion by widening travel choice through community-led rural transport services.”
3.4AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
3.4.1 AIM 1: TO WIDEN TRAVEL CHOICE FOR RURAL DWELLERS
Objectives:
•To continually gather and monitor data which will facilitate local transport planning
•To enhance and sustain existing transport services
•To design new innovative rural transport services which will meet the identified needs of the target groups and reduce rural isolation
•To make better use of existing transport resources
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•To draw on examples of best practice from elsewhere and apply these to the needs of local people
3.4.2 AIM 2: TO COMBAT SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN RURAL AREAS
Objectives:
•To target service provision on groups which are particularly socially isolated such as older people, men, women, young people, people with disabilities, new citizens
•To engage communities in planning to meet the travel needs of socially isolated groups in their areas
•To explore innovative approaches to ensuring socially excluded groups are fully informed and aware of service
3.4.3 AIM 3: TO MONITOR THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES AND EVALUATE THEIR PERFORMANCE.
Objectives:
•To establish structures and mechanisms which will allow for constant feedback from users and providers
•To regularly seek opinion and feedback from other stakeholders.
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4. AREA PROFILE
4.1 INTRODUCTION
County Longford is located within the central plain of Ireland, approximately mid way between the east and west coasts. Centrally situated in the Midlands Region of the island, which also incorporates Counties Laois, Offaly and Westmeath, Longford is a primarily low-lying area of 1,091km² (421 square miles) approximately two- thirds of which is farmland. Longford has frontage to 2 major river systems, the Shannon and the Erne. Longford is the second smallest county in Ireland. Neighbouring Counties Cavan to the north, Westmeath to the east/south-east and Leitrim and Roscommon to the west/south-west border the county. Located 120km from Dublin, on the main route to the Northwest region, the County is the smallest in Ireland and consists of five main towns; Granard, Ballymahon, Edgeworthstown, Lanesborough, and the largest, Longford Town. A map of the area is enclosed as APPENDIX A.
KEY FEATURES
This is a summary of the key findings from the statistics set out in this chapter.
• The population in Longford is currently 34,391 and has increased by 10.7% to between 2002 and 2006. • Longford has more people under the age of 14 than the country as a whole – 21.7% for Longford compared to 20.38% for the whole country • 20.4% of households in Longford lack access to a car (National figure is 19.7%) •Longford has slightly less people at work (53.95%) compared to the state as a whole (57.18%) and one third more people unemployed (5.96% compared to 4.45%) •Longford has proportionately more people employed in the following sectors than the rest of the state: agriculture, manufacturing, construction and public administration. •Substantially fewer numbers of people in Longford use buses, minibuses or coaches to get to work (1.16% compared to 6.07% nationally) and train (0.54% compared to 2.90% nationally) •There are slightly more people living with a disability in Longford (9.6%) than in the state as a whole (9.3%) •There has been a large influx of new communities into County Longford both from other EU countries and non EU which is rapidly changing the profile of the County.
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4.2 DEMOGRAPHICS
Unless otherwise stated, figures have been sourced from the Central Statistics Office. The full tables are enclosed as APPENDIX B but for ease of use only the graphical interpretations are used in most instances in this section.
4.2.1 Overall Population Profile
The population in Longford is currently 34,391 and has increased by 10.7% to between 2002 and 2006. Of the total population, 51% is male and 49% is female. Longford’s population has risen by 30% higher than the national average over the years 2002-2006.
The table below shows 2002 population statistics in comparison to 2006:
Table 1 Population Statistics
Longford State Persons 2002 31,068 3,917,203 Persons 2006 34,391 4,239,848 Males 06 17,573 2,121,171 Females 06 16,818 2,118,677 Actual change 2002-2006 3,323 322,645 % Change 2002-2006 10.7 8.2
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Population Statistics
4,500,000
4,000,000
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000 Longford 2,000,000 State Number 1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0 Persons Persons Males 06 Females Actual % Change 2002 2006 06 change 2002-2006 2002-2006
The breakdown of population by age shows that Longford has more people under the age of 14 than the country as a whole – 21.7% for Longford compared to 20.38% for the whole country. At the other end of the spectrum Longford has less people over 65 (12.58%) compared to the country as a whole (14.18%). Longford has a total dependency population of 34.28% which puts considerable strain on service provision in areas such as education and health care. The age profile for those aged less than 30 years was 43% which is slightly less than the national average which is 44%. The table overleaf shows a breakdown of population for 2006 by age:
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Table 2 Population by age
Population by age
10 9 8 7 6 Longford 5 State 4 Percentage 3 2 1 0
0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84
85 and over Age
In some DEDs age dependency is as high as 39%-42% which compares to the state figure of 31.9%. Car ownership is generally high. In 12 DEDS less than 10% do not have access to a car.
Table 3 Profile of DED’s by Age Dependency, Total Number of Households and percentage of Households without a car
2006 Age Dependency % Total Households % of Households with DED’s no car
Under Over Overall
15yrs 65yrs Agharra 357 21.8 14 35.9 132 16.7 Ballymahon 1,787 27.3 11.6 38.8 656 20.7 Cashel East 312 14.1 15.7 29.8 111 10.8
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Cashel West 547 19.3 17.7 37.1 202 11.4 Doory 416 20 16.1 36 142 4.9 Forgney 446 23.5 15.7 39.2 157 7.6 Foxhall 510 23.9 9 32.9 187 21.4 Kilcommock 595 22.2 13.6 35.8 211 18.5 Kilglass 617 22 10.9 32.9 202 12.9 Ledwithstown 285 18.6 10.2 28.8 107 6.5 Abbeylara 309 22.7 12.3 35 103 13.6 Ballinalee 445 24 12.4 36.4 162 16.7 Ballymuigh 245 19.7 13.5 33.9 90 11.1 Bunlahy 167 21.6 18 39.5 57 17.5 Columbkille 605 21.2 18.3 39.5 208 13.5 Coolamber 321 29.6 8.1 37.7 95 11.6 Creevy 344 22.7 15.1 37.8 114 11.4 Crosagstown 217 23.5 11.5 35 72 13.9 Currygrane 125 20.8 16.8 37.6 47 14.9 Dalystown 175 22.9 12 34.9 55 14.5 Drummeel 127 16.5 18.1 34.6 43 2.3 Gelshagh 319 24.1 12.5 36.7 108 6.5 Granard Rural 300 24.7 14.7 39.4 99 19.2 Granard Urban 933 16 13.9 30 363 33.3 Knockanbaun 146 17.8 12.3 30.1 48 14.6 Lislea 152 17.7 21.1 38.8 10.6 8.7 Meathas Tru1im 1,468 24 14.3 38.4 491 30.5 (Edgeworthstown) Milltown 351 23 8 31 105 13.3 Moatfarrell 187 24.6 9.6 34.2 64 12.5 Moyne 305 19.7 22.6 42.3 114 14.9
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Mullanalaghta 295 23.4 14.6 38 101 12.9 Sonnagh 286 19.9 11.5 31.5 94 14.9 Aghaboy 596 24.5 11.9 36.4 203 14.3 Ardagh East 568 17.3 13.7 31 198 10.1 Ardagh West 439 28.5 9.3 37.8 134 11.9 Ballinamuck East 474 19.2 15.6 34.8 161 10.6 Ballinamuck West 441 21.8 16.1 37.9 150 17.3 Breanrisk 711 23.6 9.7 33.3 234 10.7 Caldragh 1,596 24.1 8 32.1 538 7.4 Cloondara 575 21.6 12.9 34.4 202 7.9 Cloonee 679 36.2 10.3 36.2 221 9 Corboy 381 20.7 12.3 33.1 125 8 Drumgort 435 17.7 17.2 34.9 157 15.9 Drumlish 935 20.3 11.8 32.1 331 18.7 Killashee 280 19.6 16.1 35.7 107 14 Killoe 302 17.2 14.6 31.8 111 10 Mountdavis 204 27.9 9.8 37.7 66 9 Moydow 589 22.1 12.9 35 183 9.8 Newtown Forbes 892 19.8 12.9 32.7 346 15 Rathcline 1,289 20.4 15.6 36 487 16.8 Firry 245 16.3 12.2 42.3 81 14.8
Table 4 Numbers of people living alone
Longford State Total living alone in private households 1,272 121,157 Total living alone as a % of persons aged 65+ in private 31.7 28.7 households
4.2.2 Population changes at the local level
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Since the last Census, the population of Longford Town and its environs have grown by 17%, as shown in the table overleaf.
Table 5 Changes in Town Populations, 2002-2006
Town 2002 2006 % change Longford Town/Environs 7,557 8,836 17 Edgeworthstown 726 1,221 68 Lanesborough/Ballyleague 943 1,112 18 Ballymahon 827 963 16 Granard 1,013 933 -8 Newtownforbes 561 668 19 Drumlish 277 429 55
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Changes in town populations
100%
80%
60%
Percentage 40% % change 2006 20% 2002
0%
-20% Longford Town/Environs Ballymahon Drumlish Towns
Somewhat similar increases have been experienced in many other towns throughout the County with the notable exceptions of Granard, which experienced an 8% decrease in local population and most significantly, Edgeworthstown, which grew by 68% to 1,221 inhabitants. As shown in the table above, while most of the County’s DED’s have experienced increases in population during the period 2002-2006, some have not and the percentage of this change varies significantly from one DED to another. The increases in population in smaller towns is leading to increasing demand for transport mainly into Longford town but also to other areas.
Table 6 Changes in DED Populations, 2002-2006
DED 2002 2006 % change Edgeworthstown 1,098 1,544 41 Caldragh 1,269 1,596 26 Coolamber 263 321 22 Longford Rural 4,317 5,053 17
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Ballymahon 1,548 1,802 16.5 Drumlish 828 935 13 Ardagh East/West 926 1,007 9 Killoe 284 302 6.5 Kilcommock 581 595 2.5 Cashel West 538 547 2 Rathcline (Lanesborough) 1,268 1,289 1.7 Ballinamuch East/West 923 915 -1 Moyne 321 305 -5 Granard Urban 1,013 93 -8
Changes in DED Population
100%
80%
60%
Percentage 40% % change 2006 20% 2002 0%
-20% Edgeworthstown Drumlish Rathcline (Lanesborough) DED
4.2.3 Social Class
Longford has significantly less people in classes 1 and 2 than the state as a whole but significantly more in class 7 as can be seen from the table below.
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Table 7 Population by social class, 2006
Population by Social Class
30
25
20
Longford 15 State Percentage 10
5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Class
4.2.4 Private households
There are no significant differences in the number of private households between Longford and the state as a whole as can be seen from the table below.
Table 8 Number of private households and number of persons, 2006
Number of private households Longford % State %
Total 12,111 1,469,521 Permanent 12,042 99.41 1,462,296 99.51 Temporary 69 0.57 7,225 0.49 Average number of persons per private 2.79 2.81 household
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Number of persons in private households Longford % State %
Total 33,839 4,123,318 Permanent 33,708 99.60 4,106,753 99.60 Temporary 131 0.39 16,565 0.40 Average number of persons per private 2.79 2.81 household
Number of private households & persons
120 100 80 Longford 60 State 40 Percentage 20 0
s t y s t y ld of ld en o rar ho nen e an porar ber a po s m m rm em em T Nu T hou Per persons in househ Pe te a v vate ri i f p pr o er umb N
Table 9 Numbers aged 65 and over in private households
Longford State Persons aged 65 years & over in private households 4,016 422,242
4.3 ECONOMIC STATUS
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As evidenced by the table overleaf, Longford has slightly less people at work (53.95%) compared to the state as a whole (57.18%) and one third more people unemployed (5.96% compared to 4.45%) There are less students in Longford (8.91% compared to 10.36%) but more people retired (12.27% compared to 11.47%) or looking after home or family (12.78% compared to 11.47%). There are more people in Longford unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability (4.76% compared to 4.10%).
Table 10 Economic status (aged 15 years and over), 2006
Population by Economic Status
70 60 50
40 Longford 30 State
Percentage 20 10 0 At work job home/family Looking after Looking Unemployed having lost or having Unable to work Unable given up previous up given due to permanent due sickness/disability Economic Status
There are no major differences in unemployment in terms of the age spread of people who are unemployed between Longford and the rest of the state as can be seen from the table overleaf.
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Table 11 Unemployed (excluding first time job seekers) aged 15 years and over classified by age group, 2006.
Unemployed classified by Age Group
30
25
20 Longford 15 State
Percentage 10
5
0 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55 years years years years years years & over Age
Though the percentage of people in the workforce is smaller for Longford than for the state as a whole (60.77% compared to 62.50%) Longford exceeds the state averages in every instance, apart from the numbers of employees, when labour force, employment status and labour force participation rate is examined in the table overleaf.
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Table 12 Population 15 years and over classified by labour force, employment status and labour force participation rate.
Population by Labour Force and Employment Status
90 80 70 60 50 Longford 40 State
Percentage 30 20 10 0 job own relative Assisting worker Total Total in Employee account Looking for Looking first regular Total Total not in having lost having or given or up given labour force labour labour force labour Employer Employer or previous job previous Unemployed Status
Longford has proportionately more people employed in the following sectors than the rest of the state: agriculture, manufacturing, construction and public administration.
Table 13 Population aged 15 years and over at work classified by broad industrial group
Longford % State % Total 14,527 1,930,042 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 1,176 8.1 89,277 4.6 Mining, quarrying and turf production 184 1.3 7,751 0.4 Manufacturing Industries 2,154 14.8 243,182 12.6
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Electricity, gas and water supply 68 0.5 11,290 0.6 Construction 2,055 14.1 215,184 11.1 Wholesale and retail trade 1,776 12.2 257,309 13.3 Hotels and restaurants 480 3.3 100,731 5.2 Transport storage and communications 528 3.6 105,705 5.5 Banking and financial services 327 2.3 85,413 4.4 Real estate, renting and business activities 814 5.6 180,973 9.4 Public administration 907 6.2 101,264 5.2 Education 933 6.4 127,476 6.6 Health and social work 1,430 9.8 191,219 9.9 Other community social and personal service 486 3.3 80,358 4.2 activities Industry not stated 1,209 8.3 132,910 6.9
Population classified by broad industrial group
16 14 12 10 Longford 8 State 6
Percentage 4 2 0 stated Public Health and Health Hotels and Hotels social work social Agriculture, Industry not Industry restaurants forestry and Industries Construction Manufacturing administration administration Banking and Banking financial services financial Industrial group
4.3.1 Socio-economic groupings
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As evidenced by the table overleaf, Longford has fewer employers or managers and lower professionals than the state as a whole (11.99 compared to 15.34%) but has more higher professionals (3.12% compared to 2.78%. The county’s workforce has more skilled and semi-skilled employees than the state as a whole (20.89% compared to 18.52%) and as might be expected there are more farmers in Longford than the state average (6.53% compared to 3.94%).
Table 14 Population classified by socio-economic group, 2006
Longford % State % Employers & managers 4,123 11.99 650,552 15.34 Higher professional 1,074 3.12 245,170 2.78 Lower professional 3,317 9.64 451,865 10.66 Non manual 5,716 16.62 818,573 19.31 Manual skilled 4,079 11.86 429,779 10.14 Semi-skilled 3,104 9.03 355,441 8.38 Unskilled 1,393 4.05 159,904 3.77 Own account workers 1,406 4.09 180,500 4.26 Farmers 2,246 6.53 166,864 3.94 Agricultural workers 349 1.01 27,407 0.65 All other gainfully 7,584 22.05 753,793 17.78 occupied & unknown Total 34,391 4,239,848
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Population by Socio Economic Group
25
20
15 Longford State 10 Percentage
5
0 skilled Manual Farmers Lower Unskilled gainfully All other All occupied & occupied Employers professional & managers & Socio Economic Group
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4.4 CAR OWNERSHIP
There are no major differences here between Longford and the state as a whole. Just under 80% of private households in Longford compared to just over 80% in the state have at least one motor car.
Table 15 Number of private households in permanent housing units classified by motor car availability
Car Ownership
90 80 70 60 50 Longford 40 State 30 Percentage 20 10 0 One motor Two motor Three motor Four or Total Total % of car cars more motor households households households cars having at not having a having at least one motor car least one motor car car
4.5 TRAVEL TO AND FROM WORK/SCHOOL
As evidenced by the table below very substantially fewer numbers of people in Longford use buses, minibuses or coaches to get to work (1.16% compared to 6.07% nationally) and train (0.54% compared to 2.90% nationally). Slightly more people use cars or are passengers in cars (65.66% in Longford compared to 62.62% in the state) and significantly more (10.19% in Longford compared to 7.43% in the state) use lorries or vans.
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Table 16 Population at work aged 15 years and over by means of travel to work
Means of Travel to Work or School
70 60 50 40 Longford 30 State
Percentage 20 10 0
le S er n e d ter ver a ns foot ri ng v om ate cyc UA d ea t L coo - e h s On Bi r s y or m o ass rr er om ot T or car p fr N e r - Lo AR cl oto Oth or D r car minibus or coach cy M , r y at s or oto n oto M Bu rai M ainl T k m or W Method of travel
As can be analysed from the table below, fewer people in Longford (55.26%) travel less than 24 kilometres to work than the state as a whole (62.83%) but more people (18.72%) travel more than 25 or 50 kilometres than the state as a whole (15.66%).
Table 17 Population at work aged 15 years and over by distance travelled to work
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Distance travelled to work
30 25 20 Longford 15 State 10
Percentage 5 0
e es es er metre metr lo d ov lometr ometr ilometres ilometres an 0 Ki 1 Kilo kil Not stated es 2 to 4 ki 5 to 9 kilometres to 14 k to 24 k to 49 ometr 10 15 25 il 50 k Distance
Substantially more children in Longford (26.03%) use buses, minibuses or coaches to travel to school compared to the state as a whole (15.02%). Quite similar numbers are motor car passengers (53.33% in Longford and 55.04% in the state).
Table 18 Children at school aged between 5 and 12 years classified by means of travel to school
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Children aged 5-12 years by means of travel to school
60 50 40 Longford 30 State 20 Percentage 10 0
r AS foot ated n LU st O Bicycle -driver or van scoote y ot or car N -passenger ther means from home bus or coach e Lorr O car or ni cycl Motor or DART or n Motor Bus, mi Motor Trai
Work mainly at Method of travel
As can be analysed from the tables below fewer students in Longford walk to school or college (44.56% compared to 54.05% in the state), use bicycles (2.53% compared to 6.59%,) buses, minibuses, coaches (70.72% compared to 60 %) and trains (4.95% compared to 9.05) to get to school or college than the state as a whole. Slightly more Longford students use cars or are passengers in cars (64.95% compared to 63.25%).
Table 19 Students aged between 13 and 18 years classified by means of travel to school or college
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Students aged 13-18 years by means of travel to school or college
60 50 40 Longford 30 State 20 Percentage 10 0
r ot e S cl A ter iver me oo eans icy LU -dr On fo B sc or ry or van r m m ho T -passengeor Not stated R le or tor car L Othe A t or fro D Mo tor car a tor cyc us, minibus or coach Mo B rain or Mo T
Work mainly Method of travel
Table 20 Students aged 19 years and over classified by means of travel to school or college
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Students aged 19 years and over classified by means of travel to school or college
35 30 25 20 Longford 15 State
Percentage 10 5 0 Other Motor means On foot On Bus, scooter cycle or cycle coach Not stated Not Motor car- Motor minibus or minibus passenger Method of travel
Consultation with Institutes of Technology in Athlone, Cavan, Dundalk and Sligo reveal the following estimated numbers of students from Longford at each Institute:
Athlone 430 Cavan (To follow) Dundalk 9 Sligo (To follow)
4.6 DISABILITY
There are slightly more people living with a disability in Longford (9.6%) than in the state as a whole (9.3%) as can be seen from the table below.
Table 21 Persons with a disability classified by type of disability
Longford % State % Total persons 34,391 4,239,848 Total persons with a disability 3,285 9.6 393,785 9.3 Type of disability Blindness deafness, or a severe vision or 677 20.6 76,832 19.5 hearing impairment
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A condition that substantially limits one or 1,634 49.7 177,085 45 more basic physical activities Difficulty in learning, remembering or 907 27.6 113,133 28.7 concentrating Difficulty in dressing, bathing or getting 796 24.2 88,318 22.4 around inside the home Difficulty in going outside the home alone 1,059 32.2 117,171 29.8
Difficulty in working at job or business 1,175 35.8 140,910 35.8 Learning or intellectual disability 561 17.1 70,869 18 Psychological or emotional condition 459 14 64,955 16.5 Difficulty in participating in other activities 1,128 34 135,988 34.5 Other, including chronic illness 999 30.4 134,517 34.2 Total disabilities 9,395 1,119,778 Persons with a disability as % of total 9.6 9.3 persons
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Persons with a disability classified by disability type
60
50
40 Longford 30 State
Percentage 20
10
0 that Other, including with a with dressing, Difficulty in Difficulty A condition A Difficulty in Difficulty or emotional or Persons with Persons Total persons Total working at job at working a disability as disability a Psychological Type of disability
4.7 POPULATION PROJECTIONS
Detailed population projections for the county are not available but a CSO report on population projections for 2006 – 2021 reveals the following projections for the Midlands region, of which Longford is one county:
•The region is expected to have a population increase of 1.4% per annum •The young population will increases in all regions •There will be a 4% increase in people between 15 and 24 in the region •Major increases are projected for all regions of people aged 24 to 64 •The number of old persons will increase •The young dependency ratio will generally decline but the older dependency ratio will increase
However, Longford continued for most of 2007 to approve planning permissions for considerable numbers of new residential units as can be seen from the table overleaf.
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Table 22 Units for which permission granted in Longford per quarter to end of September 2007
Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 TOTAL Houses 479 163 216 858 Multi development houses 374 103 127 604 One off houses 105 60 89 254 Private flats/apartments 9 1 13 23 TOTALS 967 327 445 1,739
Units for which permission granted
100%
80%
60% Percentage Quarter 3 40% Quarter 2 Quarter 1 20%
0% Houses One off houses
Type of dwelling
4.8 ETHNICITY
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There has been a large influx of new communities into County Longford both from other EU countries and non EU which is rapidly changing the profile of the County. The Census results highlight the diversity within the county with the biggest ethnic minority group consisting of Irish Travellers (552 persons or 1.6% of the Longford population). After Galway City, Longford has the second highest population of the Travelling community per head within the country. They are followed by the Black or Black Irish (477 persons or 1.3% of the population). Other groups include Asian or Asian Irish (.5%), other (1%) and not stated (2.2%).
The results show that the second largest nationality group, after the Irish, is British people – 2,293 persons or 6.7% of the total population of Longford. With accession to the EU, there has been a significant increase of Europeans in Longford (5% of the population). The biggest individual nationality in this region is Polish (2% of total population) followed by Lithuanian (0.9%). Furthermore, data from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment reveal that 857 work permits (of which 513 were renewals) were issued since 2002 for non-EU immigrants working in Co Longford.
Excluding the 25 EU States, 60 different nationalities registered with the Longford Gardai in 2006. This information states that 193 individuals had first time registrations with the Gardai (89 Nigerians; 14 Ghanian, 12 Pakistani, 11 Indian;) Renewals totalled 318 (59 Pakistani; 49 Nigerian, 29 Indian; 24 South African –etc). Currently, 77 asylum seekers are residing in County Longford.
According to the Department of Justice 160 persons were granted leave to remain under the Irish Born Child Scheme - 1% of the approximately 16,000 who were granted leave to remain under this scheme (data from CADIC Ralaheen Ltd (08/05/2006).
4.9 PUBLIC TRANSPORT PROVISION IN COUNTY LONGFORD
4.9.1 Bus Eireann
Bus Eireann provide services to some 50 destinations nationwide from Longford and the full list of destinations and services is enclosed as APPENDIX C. The principal service is to and from Dublin via Edgeworthstown; 9 weekday daily services and 8 Sunday services are provided.
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A service to Tullamore Hospital was provided using a 24 seater bus of acceptable quality operated by a private provider but demand failed to materialise.
A number of rural routes are currently provided directly by Bus Eireann:
Longford via Ennybegs, Drumlish, Aughnacliffe, Mohill, Ballinamuck and Aughavas to Carrigallen, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday only, one service each day.
Longford via Keenagh and Ballymahon to Athlone, Monday to Saturday 4 services per weekday, two of which are express which do not stop in Keenagh. Times of departure are 10.10am, 13.05pm, 18.15pm , 20.20pm.
One bus runs on Sunday departing at 18.25pm and stopping only in Ballymahon.
Longford via Lanesboro and Kilashee to Roscommon, weekday service of one departure at 8.45am and two other departures on Wednesdays only at 11.35am and 14.15 terminating at Lanesboro.
Longford via Moydow, Keenagh, Foighea and Derraghan Cross to Newtowncashel on Saturdays only; two services , one at 10.10 which stops only at Derraghan Cross and one at 14.00pm which calls at all stops.
Longford via Newtownforbes and Rooskey to Sligo; one service on Saturdays only departing at 15.50pm.
4.9.2 Iarnrod Eireann
Longford Town has a railway station but Edgeworthstown is the only rural railway station in the county and Iarnrod Eireann provides services through both stations to Dublin. There are 5 trains a day, Monday to Friday starting at 6.18am and running up to 8.50pm. There are 4 return trains from Dublin running up to 20.26pm There are 6 trains to Dublin on Sundays and 5 from Dublin.
4.9.3 Private transport provision
Taxis and hackneys
Statistics from the Commission for Taxi Regulation reveal that, as at 4 th December 2007, there are 75 taxis, 31 hackneys and 6 wheelchair accessible taxis in County Longford. The majority of these are located in Longford Town.
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Coaches and minibuses
There are 15 private sector transport providers within the county and between them they have an estimated 71 vehicles providing an estimated 2070 seats. A list of the providers is enclosed as APPENDIX D and this shows a spread of location to some degree across the county predominately in Longford and Granard.
A telephone survey of these providers was undertaken and 13 out of the 15 providers were interviewed. The detailed results of the survey are enclosed as APPENDIX D but a summary of these interviews reveals:
•Providers range from one vehicle operations to quite large providers with in excess of ten vehicles
•Providers are based at a range of locations both inside and outside the county
•There is very considerable spare capacity especially in mid mornings, late afternoons, evenings and weekends
•Many areas of the county are serviced to some extent
•Few providers have undertaken training of any kind but there is an interest in accessing training
•The overall quality of accessibility among vehicles being used is quite low but there are several providers planning to acquire wheelchair accessible vehicles
The survey asked for information on a number of other areas:
Training undertaken:
•5 providers had participated in the Midas Driver Assessor Course
•4 providers had participated in the passenger Assistant Trainer Course
•1 provider had participated in training for Minibus Emergency Evacuation Procedures
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•3 providers had participated in D1 training for drivers
There was interest in all four courses to varying degrees among all but one provider who was a single vehicle operator.
Disability access:
•2 respondent providers have vehicles with folding steps though it is known that two other providers also have folding steps
•3 providers have vehicles with automated lowered step
Other provision includes:
•One minibus being converted to wheelchair accessible
•One has kneeling suspension only
•One has low floor and good grab rails
•One Transit has a low step at the rear
•One has wheelchair access including a lift at the back and plans another vehicle with wheelchair access in February
•Another is planning to acquire a new vehicle with wheelchair access
•One has a hydraulic step rather than a folding step
•One has a Ferry Lift lowering step height
Finally, providers were asked to make any other comments they wished and a selection of responses is set out below:
•There is no benefit to us working for rural transport as people use their free bus passes and we get a cheque every quarter but rates have not increased for many years
•There is a big issue with people being unaware of the routes
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•One problem is that everyone wants to travel on a specific day or time
•The community groups are the backbone to getting people to use the routes
•I had enquiries showing a need to get to doctors appointments, hairdressers etc at a local level as people said taxis are too dear and do not have disabled access. I would like to see doctors organised to set aside possibly 10am to 11am each day for people using the door to door service
•When facilities are provided people do not avail of them.
Some providers outside the County offer services in the county: South Westmeath Rural Transport operate runs to Ballymahon Day Care four days a week from various rural locations and a shopping run one day a week. Whartons Coach Tours run a service six days a week, twice daily from Cavan through Drumlish to Longford.
4.9.4 Community and voluntary provision
At the community and voluntary level, transport provision is largely confined to organisations working with people with disabilities or the elderly. Examples are :
•St Christopher’s, a substantial voluntary organisation working with people with learning difficulties at several locations across the county, has 6 buses which are used daily but are unused largely in the evenings and at weekends. Vehicle capacity ranges from a people carrier with 6 seats to minibuses.
•Irish Wheelchair Association which is based at Keenagh in the south of the County has three buses which are in fairly frequent use but have some spare capacity especially at weekends. Buses have capacity of 24 seats.
•Longford Social Services has 6 minibuses though all but one of these are contracted to the HSE. These vehicles are generally not used in the evenings or at weekends. The organisation also has a number of vehicles which are suitable for and are only
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used for delivery of meals on wheels.
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5. IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS
5.1METHODOLOGY
The process used to identify need and to develop ideas for the development of the project entailed:
•Documentation analysis •Search for examples of good practice •Use of previous research •Awareness programme to publicise the study •Public meetings •Use of individual transport logs •Survey of community and voluntary groups •Survey of county councillors •Interviews with stakeholders •Survey of local businesses •Survey of sporting organisations •Contact with young people •Survey of childcare providers •Input from board members and staff at LCRL
SUMMARY OF NEED This is a summary of the findings from the research and consultation undertaken.
•Transport serving all of the outlying rural areas to enable
people to get to and from work in Longford
•Transport from outlying areas to enable people, especially
those with disabilities and women without access to a car,
to access further education and training opportunities
offered in Longford and in the larger towns and villages by
a variety of organisations
•Health related transport, especially to Tullamore hospital and
to hospital appointments, visiting patients, day care etc at
hospitals and day care centres in Longford Town and
Mullingar
• Transport to allow people to attend VEC adult education courses across the county during the day and evenings • Transport for all, but especially young people and elderly, into social, recreational and shopping facilities in Longford and the larger towns and villages •Transport for people with disabilities for a wide variety of reasons; this includes the provision of passenger assistance when needed • Transport to enable mothers to take children to childcare facilities in the larger towns and villages • ______ 6 ______ 6 3 6 52 63 3 56 9 5 769 05 9 9 9 LCRL 9 Rural Transport 5 Project, 4 5 Strategic Plan2008-206 9 10
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5.2DOCUMENTATION ANALYSIS
The following documents were consulted as part of the research:
•County Longford Rural Transport Audit, 2002
•Operational Project Plan for North County Longford (2002)
•The Maple Project, study of the Irish Transport System in Relation to Improving Mobility and Accessibility for People with Learning Disabilities
•Transport Access for All, sectoral plan for accessibility by the Department of Transport (2006)
•Progressing Rural Public Transport in Ireland (2006) by Fitzpatrick Associates and Steer Davies Gleave for the Department of Transport
•Review and Strategic Plan for North Longford Rural Transport Initiative, 2005-2006 by Westbic
•Strategy and Implementation Plan for South Longford Rural Transport Initiative, 2007 by Westbic
•Needs Analysis, 2007 by Pobal
•Progress Report for 2006 by North Longford Rural Transport Initiative
•Report by Careertracks Limited on behalf of Pobal on facilitation process of optimum formal structural arrangements to manage the RTP at local level
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•National Review of RTP in Longford by Pobal
5.3SEARCH FOR EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE
An internet search produced a number of sources of examples of good practice and these included:
•Newsletters from the Rural Transport Initiative
•Case Studies from the Rural Transport Initiative
•Enterprising Approaches to Rural Community Transport by the Community Transport Association for the Department for Transport in the UK
•Great Ways to Go, produced by the Countryside Agency in Britain
•Country Lifelines, Good Practice in Rural Transport by the Rural Development Commission in Britain
•Making it Happen, a guide to good practice in Local Transport Co-operation by the Community Transport Association
•Rural Community Transport, a guide to good practice for the Scottish Assembly
•Getting Out and About, a guide to accessible transport in Northern Ireland
•Community Transport in Northern Ireland website
•Newsletters from the Community Transport Association in Britain.
5.4PREVIOUS RESEARCH
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Research was undertaken by Westbic in early 2007 when preparing a South Longford Rural Transport Strategy and Implementation Plan. A summary of this research is set out below.
A household survey with 556 completed surveys revealed:
•93% of respondents said they would use a public transport service if it were made available
•The most popular needs identified for transport were shopping (41%), socialising (26%) and visiting a doctor or hospital (17%)
•The most important aspect of a service was identified as door to door collection/drop/off
•52% of respondents use the family car with a further 19% relying on a friend’s car
The research also revealed that 18% of the population in South Longford had no car and that the population density of they area was 58 people per square mile compared to the national average of 146 and thus confirming the scattered and predominantly rural nature of the area. The area also has a higher age dependency profile than the national average (36.8% compared to a national average of 32.3%).
5.5CONSULTATION
As part of the work of preparing the strategy the consultants, working in collaboration with staff from LCRL, undertook a range of activities aimed at consulting as widely as possible with local stakeholders. This included public meetings, individual transport logs, survey of community and voluntary groups, survey of county councillors, interviews with stakeholders, survey of childcare providers, contact with young people and sporting bodies, survey of employers. Feedback from the consultations is set out below.
5.5.1Awareness raising campaign
An awareness raising campaign was undertaken and this included:
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•Circulars to all community and voluntary groups in the county using a list compiled by the consultants from sources including the Community and Voluntary Forum, Citizens Information Centre, Longford CR Limited, the Volunteer Centre and www.longford.ie together with Golden Pages; 241 groups in total are included in the list.
•Inserts in all church bulletins
•Press advertising
•Inserts in the local correspondent sections of the local newspapers
•Radio interview
•Posters at key locations.
5.5.2Public meetings
Pobal requested that a community consultation process be held across the county on a geographical basis to provide as many local people as possible with an opportunity to contribute to the provision of future transport services. This consultation needs to be set in the context of a very recent household survey in South Longford (2006-2007) and a survey in North Longford which is regularly updated.
A series of 5 public meetings was organised across the county at the following locations to ensure a geographical spread:
Granard, Ballinamuck, Lanesborough, Ballymahon and Edgeworthstown.
Attendances at all locations were lower than had been hoped for: Granard, (7) Ballinamuck, (7) Lanesborough, (4), Ballymahon, (6) and Edgeworthstown, (6) and was primarily individuals representing community or voluntary organisations, a number of providers and on one occasion, a County Councillor.
Each consultation opened with a Powerpoint Presentation to stimulate the discussion and inform participants what is actually possible and a copy of the presentation is enclosed as APPENDIX E.
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Feedback from the community consultations is summarised below:
Granard
A discussion began around the Friends of St Josephs’ hospital service which operates and leaves from designated pick up points only. It was felt this is fine for those approximate 1,200 in the town but not those living rurally. It was suggested that this service should really be a door-to-door service especially at this time of the year.
The current North Longford transport scheme was discussed and it was felt there is need for expansion. It currently, for example, does not do routes to the swimming pool which is needed.
Another issue raised was the lack of wheelchair accessible buses; those in attendance felt this was a big issue that must be addressed.
Also highlighted was the need for transport for young people into Cavan and Athlone for education purposes. This need continued to be pursued even though it was recognised that a previous pilot to Cavan IT had failed and that a private provider is currently servicing Athlone IT.
Those in attendance agreed in theory to the idea of a social car scheme if there were a reasonable number of drivers secured.
It was suggested that a comment box and notice board should be placed locally for people to make suggestions for routes and times that they feel are needed. Also it was mentioned that a facility could be available for students and others to log onto a website and register their transport needs.
Another area mentioned was the increase in numbers of new citizens in the area and their transport needs as many do not have cars.
It was felt that an organised designated car share and parking scheme might work.
Ballinamuck
The issue of the Tuesday run once a month was discussed. The route runs on the first Tuesday of every month and had been running for a few months. However, the Rural Transport Co-ordinator had contacted a member of the Transport Working Group in Ballinamuck to say the uptake of the service was not good and therefore it was under threat of being removed. There was some confusion around members of the Transport
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Working Group being aware the route existed and therefore not promoting it within the community. Communication was highlighted as being the key to rural transport.
Discussion took place around the area of rural transport and the needs in the area. In general Ballinamuck is serviced well. A car sharing scheme and social cars were discussed and questions were raised as to who would co-ordinate the scheme in the area.
The problem in the areas around Ballinamuck is the road system, which can’t accommodate buses so therefore the social cars or car sharing scheme would be better.
The group felt that they would like to see rural transport picking people up and dropping them exactly where they are going rather than on the main street or a mile away from an appointment – i.e. to a hospital appointment, to collect their pension. If the money is not there to do this once a week then it should be provided once a month. This would provide assistance to people who don’t have any other option.
The group discussed the existing rural transport service which is meant to be for everyone. However, the perception is that it is a service for older persons.
A comment was made that the HSE bus transport is a joke as they have cancelled the Tullamore hospital run because the consultants couldn’t guarantee people locally an appointment on that specific day.
Lanesboro
Attendance included one provider whose minibus is fully occupied doing bingo runs every night, school runs every weekday and shopping run to Longford on Saturday CIE bus to Longford on Wednesdays stops for too short a time in Longford CIE bus runs from Roscommon to Longford through Lanesboro Mon – Fri at 12.30 but cannot get bus back No transport for workers to get to/from Longford No transport for locals to access swimming pool, cinema etc Issue raised about spend locally on energy related to cars; in 500 homes €700,000 annually on transport
Ballymahon
Need for transport to take elderly people to clinic in Longford and hospital in Tullamore
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Need for transport for young people to go on trips, visit cinema, swimming pool etc No need for prescription collection service Suggestion community should have own minibus
Need for transport to collect elderly people and bring them to day centre in Ballymahon especially on Wednesdays and Thursdays; noted that South Westmeath RTP bring people into Ballymahon Day Care Centre. Issue about length of time people can be on buses for the day care centre – 1 and a half to 1 and three quarter hours Need for transport for mothers and children to go to creches Need for transport for elderly to go to pubs to socialise Importance of drivers stressed; public face of rural transport
Considerable interest in social car scheme due to flexibility Family Resource Centre have scheme to provide day activities for housebound people but transport is costing €6,000 per annum and they do not have this type of budget; a request for assistance to the RTP has not so far been successful as it is dependent on the production of this strategy.
Edgeworthstown
Need for medical appointments to be clustered Need for flexibility in picking up pensioners on any day of the week, not just Fridays No need for service to collect prescriptions; done by home helps Current rural transport seen as bus for elderly so is unattractive to younger people and they do not even realise they can use it Need for transport for students to go to Dundalk and Athlone IT; need for transport for students to get from Granard to Cavan IT Need for bingo bus service Isolation of rural men stressed especially; now cannot go to pub for evening drink Need for bus service to Tullamore hospital Considerable interest in social car scheme due to flexibility
5.5.3Transport logs
A specially designed transport log was inserted as an advertisement in each of the local newspapers in an effort to identify individual transport needs and to try to ensure that as many people as possible, especially those who, for whatever reason, were unable to attend any of the public meetings, were given the opportunity to have an
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input to the consultation process. A copy of the advertisement is enclosed as APPENDIX F.
A total of 13 responses were received and a full schedule of these is enclosed as APPENDIX F but an analysis of these reveals the following demands:
•Travel from Granard to Longford, Mulingar and Cavan, mostly once a week, for sport and recreation, shopping, socialising, hospital visits
•Travel from Abbeylara once or twice a week to Longford, Cavan, Mullingar and Athlone for shopping, education and training, personal business and hospital visits •Travel from Ballymahon to Longford, Athlone and Mullingar up to five times a week for voluntary work, education and training, hospital visits and sport and recreation
•Travel from Ballinalee to Longford twice a week for education and training, socialising, sport and recreation and hospital visit
•Travel from Mullinaghta to Granard twice a month to enable group of ladies wishing to attend the Moatside Club
•Travel from Lisryan to Longford five times a week for work
•Travel from Freighmien near Lisryan to Longford five times a week for work, education and training, doctor/dentist and visiting friends.
5.5.4Survey of community and voluntary groups
Longford has a diverse and widespread community and voluntary sector as is evidenced by the list of such groups compiled by the consultants and this list was used, because of the comparatively low response from the newspaper advertisements, to circulate an amended version of the transport log to all the groups on the list and a copy of the log is enclosed as APPENDIX G.
A total of 25 responses were received and a full schedule is enclosed as APPENDIX G but an analysis of these reveals the following demands:
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Groups most in need of transport ranked in order using a scoring system:
GROUPS MOST IN NEED RANK ORDER Older people 97 People with disabilities 83 Women 74 Lone parents 73 Unemployed people 57 Young people 45 Students 44
Transport needs in rank order using a scoring system:
TRANSPORT NEED RANK ORDER Attending doctor or dentist 57 Personal business 55 Attending or visiting hospital 49 Education and training 48 Socialising 47 Shopping 41 Sport and leisure 34 Day care facilities 32 Going to church 30 Childcare 29 Voluntary work 26 Going to employment 25
When asked to rank the three most important services a very wide mix of responses emerged and these included:
•Older people going from North Longford to local towns, Longford and Cavan on a weekly or fortnightly basis for
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reasons including shopping, personal business, doctor/dentist, pension, day care club, banking etc
•Women going from rural areas to Longford to get support in relation to domestic violence and accessing training
•Lone parents going from Moyne, Aughnaclife, Ballinamuck, Drumlish every day to Mullingar and Longford for hospital, childcare and social activities
•People with disabilities travelling from all the rural areas to Longford every weekday for reasons including doctor/dentist, banking, education and training, rehabilitation and shopping
•People of all ages going from Ballymahon, Edgeworthstown and Granard to Longford weekly for reasons including education, shopping, hospitals
•Travel for volunteers seven days a week from and to locations all over the county to enable them to carry out their activities.
A selection of other comments made by respondents were:
•Will there ever be a service to cater for someone going to work in Longford at 9am and coming home at 6pm? (Newtowncashel group)
•At certain times of year older people’s needs are very specific; for example at Christmas for socialising and outings and the Bealtaine Festival in May. They need transport to get to these events
•There is no public transport from Ballymahon to Mullingar.
5.5.5Survey of county councillors
To augment the community consultation and further support the identification of transport needs in rural areas contact was made via questionnaire with all 21 county councillors from the various geographical areas across County Longford. A copy of
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the circular is enclosed as APPENDIX H. A total of 7 responses were received. Responding councillors came from the following electoral DEDs:
Ballymahon (3), Granard, Longford (2), Drumlish.
A full schedule of their responses is enclosed as APPENDIX H but an analysis reveals the following groups most in need of transport ranked in order using a scoring system:
GROUPS MOST IN NEED RANK ORDER Older people 35 People with disabilities 31 Women 21 Young people 17 Lone parents 17 Unemployed people 13 Students 8
Transport needs in rank order using a scoring system:
TRANSPORT NEED RANK ORDER Attending or visiting hospital 20 Socialising 17 Attending doctor or dentist 15 Education or training 15 Shopping 14 Personal business 12 Day care 11 Childcare 11 Sport and leisure 9 Employment 8 Going to church 6 Voluntary work 4
When asked to rank the three most important services a very wide mix of responses emerged and these included:
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•Daily services for everyone to Longford from Aughnacliffe, Granard and Edgeworthstown
•People of all ages attending or visiting the hospital in Mullingar and Tullamore
•Older people from all over the county going to Longford for medical appointments
•Students going from Longford to Athlone to attend college
•Young people from rural areas attending Longford in the evenings and weekends.
Comments from councillors included:
•Rural transport is working in Granard
•Need for transport to take middle aged people out at night for a social drink
•We need a better service in general all over the county.
5.5.6Interviews with stakeholders
A series of interviews was carried out with a wide selection of 51 stakeholders representing statutory, community and voluntary organisations; some were conducted on a face to face basis, others were conducted by telephone. A full list of those consulted with a brief synopsis of their comments is set out below .
In addition contact was made with POBAL staff on two occasions during the study.
Of all stakeholders that replied:
22 identified transport as frequently a problem 18 identified transport as a problem sometimes 11 Indicated that transport is not a problem at all.
The stakeholders contacted were: Teagasc Citizens Information Centre LCRL Integration Officer Kenagh Enterprise Centre
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Longford Traveller Movement Midland Employment Support Leisure Buddies – St Christopher’s Agency Equal Development Officer & St Vincent De Paul Longford Women’s Link E.D.I Centre Ballymahon Day Care County Enterprise Board Youth Group Clondra VEC ,Adult Guidance Girl Guides VEC, CEO VEC Literacy Services VEC Adult Education After School Club ICA Backstage Theatre Older Persons Network Attic Youth Café Irish Wheelchair Association HSE Health Promotion Officer County Development Board Library Services Longford DSFA Childminding Advisory Officer Longford Town Council St Christopher’s Sports Club Ballymahon Family Resource Temple Michael College Centre Youth Reach Granard Rathmuire Longford County Childcare FAS, Longford Committee FAS, Athlone Sean Ahern LCRL HSE Community Services Ann O’Connor Resident in Longford Social Services Longford National Learning Network Granard Area Action Group Longford Youth Services Caring and Sharing Association – St Christopher’s Centre for people c/o The Family Centre Longford with Learning Difficulties Longford Women’s Link, Tess National Council for the Blind Murphy Longford Swimming Pool Longford Mega Bowls
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Responses from each of the groups are outlined below:
Teagasc Transport is sometimes a problem for attending classes and meetings in the spring and autumn, one or two mornings a week. Pre booking door-to-door service in Newtowncashel, Drumlish, Mullinalaghta, Edgeworthstown to Longford to visit Teagasc is needed. Lack of transport is causing isolation within the elderly community in rural areas. Citizens Information Centre Transport is sometimes a problem for people to access employment and to access us for advice. People with disabilities, low-income families and the elderly are particularly affected by lack of transport. A service is needed from Newtowncashel, Legan, and Carrickedmond to Longford once or twice a week to CIC. (Note: this service is now in place). Reference made to people with disabilities who want to be independent but a taxi to town costs them €25. A service once a week to take people from rural areas int o Longford would be invaluable. Buses need to be well equipped to deal with disabilities. Kenagh Enterprise Centre Transport is sometimes a problem; the bus service through Kenagh to Longford passes the enterprise centre door so people have access. No tra nsport is available for evening classes/training and this is needed from Kenagh to Longford. We would like to offer the crèche / after school services to the wider communities but we would need access to another bus for this. When we organise outings for t he kids the cost factor has to be put onto the parents. Longford Traveller Movement Transport is sometimes a problem for women in rural areas with no transport. Traveller women would benefit from door to door that could be pre-booked throughout Longford. Rural social transport is vital for all. St Christopher’s Sports Club Transport is not a problem at all. We have 6 vehicles – ranging from a people carrier to a 15 seater, which is wheelchair accessible. All are used at all times during the week. Leisure Buddies – St Christopher’s Transport is frequently a problem. We have the use of a seven seater only at the weekend. Elderly people do
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not want to drive at night and not for long journeys. The current transport for people with disabilities in rural areas is poor. Pre booking from Drumlish and Aghnacliffe to St. Christopher’s is needed. People experience difficulties with evening public transport to get home from events. St Christopher’s, PRO Transport is not normally a problem as St Christopher’s who prov ide services to people with learning disabilities have six buses carrying around 8- 12 people each which they use to bring trainees in to their centre from all round the county. These buses are unused in the evenings and at weekends. Equal Development Offi cer based at Transport is sometimes a problem for rural women. Longford Women’s Link Rural women are very isolated. There is no common transport available it is mostly the men who have the cars. A door-to-door cross-country pick up on a regular basis for p eople with disabilities would help. Transport to hospital in Tullamore and Mullingar is needed. There is no co-ordinated strategy for disability and there is a lack of infrastructure. Ballymahon Day Care Transport is sometimes a problem at all as the publ ic transport stops at the day care centre. The rural transport scheme only goes so far and the more rural people are cut off with no access to services. Another bus would help from Kenagh, Newtowncashel to the centre on a Wednesday and Thursday as the exis ting service is overbooked. Youth Group Clondra Transport is sometimes a problem for events organised. There is only the Ballyna bus to take people to town this does not service the rural areas. A service is needed once a month for events and from Clondra to the Backstage Theatre twice a week. Youth Group Clondra, Labybirds and Girl Guides would all benefit from communal access to a bus. Girl Guides Transport is not a problem at all; parents bring children to events and we hire out transport. Boxing group in Lanesborough work by pooling cars. However, it is always the same person doing the running. Assistance with one off events would be helpful as transport is costly. VEC Literacy Services, Frances Transport is sometimes a problem. More people
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Stephenson would attend our services if the transport were available. Door to door transport with disability assistance from Legan / Ballymahon and Longford on Fridays to VEC training is needed. The majority of VEC Literacy Services clients are reasonably mobile and the bus service stops just outside the door. We do have a centre in Ballymahon and Granard also. After School Club, Longford Transport is frequently a problem. People rely heavily on the bus service as a lot of parents don’t drive. A bus service is nee ded to/from the schools to Ardncassa, Clonbalt Woods, Prospect Woods and Teffaya 3pm - 6pm Monday to Friday during the winter to take children home from school. Newtowncashel, Lanesborough, Cashel have little service at present. Main routes are well serviced. Backstage Theatre Transport is frequently a problem. Cost is a big issue. It is needed for school shows and field trips. Transport is a particular issue for young people. Funding support is needed to assist schools with costs of transport to access the theatre. Attic Youth Café Transport is sometimes a problem due to the lack of public transport available. A service is needed from rural areas to the Saturday Attic Youth Café which is opened 4 – 8pm HSE Health Promotion Officer Transport is frequently a problem. A lot of people are marginalized in rural areas, public transport is not sufficient to service these areas. A service is needed from Aughnacliff and Dromard to Longford for elderly and young to access services early mornings and evenings. Acces s to transport is essential in helping to maintain elderly people’s health and well- being. HSE in Longford could not identify amount spent on taxis for transport for patients in the county but figures from the HSE reveal a spend for HSE West of €3 million on taxis in 2006 and a total of €10.4 million over the last four years. Library Services Longford Transport is frequently a problem for festivals and events. The elderly/active retired have difficulties with transport getting into the library on a daily basis. A service is needed from Ballymahon, Drumlish,
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Lanesborough, Granard and Edgeworthst own Monday to Friday in the mornings to access library services Childminding Advisory Officer, Transport is sometimes a problem as childminders County Childcare Committee find it difficult to access our service. Door to door pick up would be good for clie nts; a bus would not work due to the need for baby car seats. Templemichael College Transport is sometimes a problem. We have school transport through Bus Eireann and the school opens at 8am to allow for early arrival. The 9 adult education courses at the college however prove difficult to for people to access as people travel to attend and the transport provision is not there to service this.
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Youth Reach Granard Transport is not a problem at all. Mini bus available and routes depend on uptake. Students in Drumlish, Street and Aughnacliffe find it very difficult and would benefit from a bus service to the Youth Reach in Granard Monday to Friday. We assist disadvantaged students in Youth Reach Granard and the students would use any excuse not to come in. We need to encourage them to come in. Lack of transport is an easy excuse therefore it is essential that it is provided for them. These are poorly motivated kids whose parents, even if they have cars, are not sufficiently concerned to take the kids to scho ol. Transport provision is vital. Longford County Childcare Committee Transport is sometimes a problem. Childcare services, both community and private, have a problem at the end of school time each day for collecting and taking to childcare facilities. Lo ne parents attending training or events after 6pm experience difficulties with transport. There is a need to provide transport in conjunction with childcare services for children attending after school clubs throughout the county. Sean Ahern LCRL Communit y Transport is frequently a problem for older people. Development Worker People rely on taxis and the good will of neighbours. A lot of women don’t drive and are involved in clubs. Transport to these is an issue. Door to door service is the answer. Buses f or elderly are more difficult as the journey times are too long. A service is needed from Edgeworthstown to Longford once a week when the senior citizens club meets. Need to keep older people on the agenda. LCRL Integration Officer Transport is frequentl y a problem. People are isolated – husband at work with car. One lady had to stay overnight in Tullamore for a hospital appointment as there was no transport to suit. 75% of women do not have access to a car. We have an outreach for women now to lesson the isolation. More regular routes into Longford from Granard, Lanesborough and Drumlish areas are needed Ann O’Connor Resident in Longford –Transport is frequently a problem. When the lone
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______involved in lone parents and elderly parents club began women had to get a taxi to the 10- clubs week training course. The time allowed for people from rural areas when dropped in Longford is either far too short or far too long to do their shopping. It is difficult to access the women’s centre as it is on the outskirts of the town. Community car scheme from Lanesborough, Newtowncashel and Drumlish to Longford two or three times a week is needed. Granard Area Action Group Transport is sometimes a problem; particular issues are the timing of bus services as return services come into Granard around 4pm which is too early for workers coming home. Sees particular need for transport for students; many are along the roads hitching lifts and some have given up courses due to transport difficulties. Need for elderly people to trave l to Cavan one day a week. Concerns about illegal taxis. Need for services for lone parents and for children to access after school services. Social car scheme may work. Pointed out that 200 new houses were built in Abbeylara but lack of transport has hindered take up. Caring and Sharing Association – c/o Transport is sometimes a problem. Works to support Family Centre people with disabilities by organising afternoon events and activities. Cater for 30 or so people and carers could be same number. Normally hire buses when going on trips. Longford Womens Link, Tess Murphy Transport is frequently a problem. Works with women suffering from domestic violence and identifies a particular need for transport, for example, to bring women to court when they are purs uing legal actions against their partners. A voucher scheme might work but there are issues around confidentiality. Also there is a need for women to access transport for training courses. Midland Employment Support Agency Transport is frequently a proble m. Works to assist people with disabilities into open employment. Many cannot access transport; bus timetable does not suit as many are only able to work part-time. Some hitch lifts and many rely on neighbours. Longford St Vincent De Paul Transport is fre quently a problem but not necessarily for their clients as they service a local area. However,
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they had been successful in securing employment for some new citizens outside Longford but it was not possible to get them access to transport. Keen on taxi serv ice for elderly but warned that anything which is free is abused. EDI Transport is frequently a problem. This is an ICTU centre which works with unemployed people by offering pre-employment programmes. Moving shortly to new training centre out of town and increasing numbers. Transport is expected to be a particular issue even for people living in the town as they are often demotivated and not prepared to walk 2 or 3 miles. Would be keen to collaborate on transport with NLN – see above. County Enterprise Board Transport is frequently a problem for workers in rural areas trying to access employment; without lifts they would have no chance. Identified particular issue for trainees to access transport for attending FAS Centre in Athlone. VEC, Mary Farrell, Adult Guidance Transport is sometimes a problem for people needing to access services; without transport some clients just would not be able to avail of her services. The service can only go out to areas a few times a year. VEC, CEO Transport is frequently a problem for adult students and Youthreach participants VEC, Mary Toher, Adult Education Transport is frequently a problem. The VEC holds adult education classes across the county (over 600 participants) but while childcare support can be provided there is no transport provision and this is a definite issue for many people which prevents them attending. ICA Transport is not a problem for members of the ICA clubs as women collect each other. Believes there are a lot of isolated men who need transport. Older Peoples Network Transport is frequently a problem. Some need for expansion of existing services and to take account of needs of elderly and disabled passengers. It is important to offer older people the option of transport in the evenings as well as d uring the day as there is a need for older people to socialise. Keen on social cars idea as this would facilitate people not able to access
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fixed routes. Irish Wheelchair Association Transport is not generally a problem. Irish Wheelchair Association have two buses, each carrying about 20 people, which are used extensively to bring people with disabilities to their day care centre in Keenagh and there may be some spare capacity in these vehicles. CDB Transport is frequently a problem. Has seen considerabl e benefits from RTI; brings major change to quality of people’s lives in that they can be socially and economically more active. Pointed out benefits to transport providers themselves. Identified hospital care as specific issue. DSFA Transport is frequent ly a problem. Referred to need for transport for young people at EDI (see above). Due to lack of transport can only service the town. DSFA plan to offer new Activation Programme in rural areas aimed at target groups to help them access employment and may b e able to look at transport needs on individual basis; possibility of transport costs being re-imbursed. Longford Town Council, Chair Transport is frequently a problem. Big issue is lack of transport from Longford to Tullamore Hospital. Accepts there was a service which had to be withdrawn but claims this was because a poor quality vehicle was used. Insists there would be strong demand now. Ballymahon Family Resource Centre Transport is frequently a problem. Had been involved in recent South Longford rout e planning. Provides service in centre for housebound people who cannot access it without transport. Finds it difficult to fund this from centre’s resources and sought funding from RTI but was unsuccessful. Identified need for proper accessible transport, for transport to take people to employment and for parent and toddler groups. Rathmuire in Granard Transport not an issue for the particular scheme as they can access a minibus. FAS, Community Services, Longford Transport is an issue sometimes. FAS is ke en to provide CE workers within the schemes it supports across the county with training in a variety of areas and this would require transport into Longford from
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around the county. FAS trainees also have access to a travel subsidy and this could be used by trainees accessing any rural transport provision. FAS Training Centre, Athlone Transport is not really an issue. Some 50 people from Longford attend the FAS Training Centre in Athlone. FAS provides a bus which leaves Lanesborough at 7.25am each day and t ravels to Athlone through Longford Town, Edgeworthstown and Ballymahon. HSE, Community Services Transport is frequently a problem. The HSE lacks a specific transport policy. They have a statutory responsibility to take emergency cases to hospital but out side that it is down to the discretion of local management. There is certainly a need for transport to take people to hospital for appointments but the scale of such a task is tremendous and unlikely to be within the capacity of any rural transport scheme. There is very little hope of ensuring that consultant appointments could be scheduled to suit rural dwellers. It would be more sensible and practical to bring people into hospitals for visitation Longford Social Services Transport is sometimes a problem. Longford Social Services also have six buses which are seconded to the HSE; again these buses are generally unused in the evenings and at weekends National Learning Network Transport is sometimes a problem primarily because the bus which NLN, which is th e National Learning Network, provides to transport to people with learning difficulties accessing their training centre in Longford which leaves Granard at 7.30am each day and travels to Longford via Edgeworthstown, Ballymahon, and Keenagh and this means s ome people are on the bus for at least one and a half hours. There could be an opportunity to break this run into two and use the two buses to provide transport for example, for CE workers or FAS trainees or trainees attending the new EDI Centre Longford Youth Service Transport is frequently a problem. The Longford Youth Service identified lack of transport for young people as a specific need especially in the areas of socialising and shopping. There are difficulties with young people using private sector hire coaches to
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access discos outside the county; because of their behaviour on the buses some companies are reluctant to carry them. Parents are generally unwilling to provide transport. National Council for the Blind Transport is not a problem at all. W orking with 100 people with sight impairment. Transport does not often feature as an issue as the reality is that most people with visual impairment travel with others. Longford Swimming Pool Transport is not huge issue as most public transport drops into Longford town though the pool is three quarters of a mile away from the town centre and this is too far a walk for elderly people. It would be helpful if existing bus routes were extended to drop at the pool. Can be issue with bus times as they do not giv e people enough time to enjoy the pool. Schools find it expensive to pay for transport to bring students to the pool. Longford Mega Bowl Do not see transport as an issue and had not given any real thought to it.
Overall, stakeholders identified the following main issues related to transport:
•no transport available at all in many areas and among some groups of people
•people not able to drive and totally reliant on public transport or lifts
•public transport provision is totally inadequate
•elderly don’t drive at night
•isolation in rural areas is severe with the only option for many people being paying for taxis which is very expensive
•lot of people have to rely on the good will of neighbours and relatives to access services
•there is an absence of transport for one-off events
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•particular issue of transport to hospitals.
Specific suggestions for new routes developed through discussions with stakeholders included:
•From main towns and villages to enable CE workers funded by FAS to attend training in Longford Town
•Dividing into two the current service provided by NLN (National Learning Network) or people with learning disabilities from Granard through Edgeworthstown, Ballymahon and Keenagh to Longford and allowing others such as CE workers or FAS or EDI trainees to use the services also
•Link services from Granard to Edgeworthstown to connect to Dublin trains and to Virginia to connect to Dublin buses
•From Newtowncashel, Drumlish, Mullinalaghta and Edgeworthstown to the Teagasc office in Longford
•From Keenagh and Newtowncashel to Ballymahon Day Care Centre on Wednesdays and Thursdays
•From Aughnacliffe and Dromard to Longford for elderly and young people to access services
•From all outlying areas into Longford on Saturdays to enable young people to go shopping and meet friends
•From Drumlish, Street, Aughnacliffe to Youth Reach in Granard from Monday to Friday
•From Keenagh to Longford for training evenings organised by the VEC
•From Newtowncashel, Legan, Carrickedmond to Longford once or twice a week to CIC
•From Clondra to Longford twice a week to access services
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•From Clondra to the Backstage Theatre twice a week
•From Legan to Ballymahon and Longford on Fridays to access VEC training
•From Ballymahon, Drumlish, Lanesboro, Granard and Edgeworthstown Monday to Friday mornings to access library services
•From the outer rural areas into Edgeworthstown once a week to attend the Edgeworthstown Senior Social Club.
•Lanesboro to Longford, Newtown to Longford and Drumlish to Longford two or three times a week to attend training in the Women’s centre and access shops, appointments etc.
5.5.7Survey of employers
Transport to and from work is a major need for employees and clearly employers need their workers to travel to work. In an attempt to establish the extent to which transport presents difficulties for employers a survey of employers was undertaken. A database of businesses in the county was supplied by the County Enterprise Board and from this a selection of 30 businesses was made on a representative sectoral and geographical basis. All of these businesses were telephoned using a pro-forma, copy attached as APPENDIX I.
It proved possible to make contact with 20 of the 30 businesses. Of these, seventeen (85%) indicated that transport was not an issue for their businesses as employees simply travelled by car, either their own or a colleague’s.
Three businesses (15%) indicated difficulties with transport as factors affecting their businesses and brief details are set out below:
Cameron Ireland at Aghafad referred to issues now facing people without driving licenses who currently use cars to get to work. Their concern is that such employees may not be able to use their cars and would not have an alternative form of transport.
Homestyle Meats in Longford Town operate shifts but out of 115 employees only one uses public transport; rest use cars but lack of suitable transport can prevent the firm from accessing new employees from rural areas.
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Pat the Baker in Granard finds transport can be problem in relation to shifts. The firm has to keep people on the same shifts to fit with their lifts and this may not suit the blend of skills needed for that particular shift.
5.5.8Feedback from young people
Through the offices of Longford Youth Services, contact was made with 5 youth groups in the county using a simple pro-forma and the feedback revealed that young people essentially wanted transport for socialising in the evenings especially at weekends, for visits to the swimming pool and bowling alley and for shopping trips into Longford on Saturday afternoons to meet friends.
5.5.9Contact with main county wide sporting organisations
GAA:
Given the number of GAA clubs in the county a survey was sent to all 46 clubs in the county. Three clubs replied and indicated that the following are transport issues for their club:
•Transport for parents to deliver and or pick up children for games and or training
•Transport to take players to matches and events
•Transport for staff and volunteers to travel to their venues
One club has its own transport.
One club would need transport about twenty times a year to take players to matches while another would require transport once or twice a week for local people to access matches and to visit the community centre, attend mass, visit the pub and go to the swimming pool and the third would need transport 2-3 times a week for participation training and matches.
Soccer:
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Contact was made with Michael Nevin who is actively involved with the Longford Schoolboys League. In his opinion transport is seen as an issue sometimes for soccer clubs in the county. Clubs hire buses and there are sometimes issues around availability. A separate issue is that there can be uncertainty at times about whether or not the matches will go ahead.
Transport is needed only at weekends and is usually booked a week or so in advance.
Particular areas with difficulties include Lisryan, Ballinalee, Drumlish.
Rugby:
Longford Rugby Club were contacted and indicated that they do not have their own transport so transport is sometimes a problem. The main issues around transport are:
Taking large group of people to matches in different areas
Getting young people in to training as most do not drive
Drink driving regulations have reduced the social side of the club
Transport is mainly an issue in the evenings for training and at weekends for going to matches. Some form of regional pick-up from peripheral regions to the club would help.
5.5.10Survey of childcare providers
A survey was sent to all thirty six childcare providers in the county and 6 responses were received, a response rate of 17%. A copy of the survey and the full analysis of responses is enclosed as APPENDIX J. A summary of the responses is as follows:
QUESTIONS RESPONSES Is transport for parents to pick up and deliver children a problem? 5 said yes Is transport for staff and/or volunteers to travel to your building a 1 said yes problem?
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Do you have access to your own transport? 1 said yes Is there a need for transport to collect children from primary 3 said yes schools and bring them to after school clubs? Are you aware of any instances where children dropped out of the 1 said yes service as parents had no access to affordable transport?
Other comments made included:
Two of the children we cater for in our after school club have special needs and the school is one mile away from our premises. The children would have to cross the road three times and some of the roads have no footpaths.
5.5.11Input from Longford Community Resources Limited
Throughout the study there was very frequent consultation and discussion between the consultants, the Manager at LCRL and the Rural Transport staff.
An interim report of the study was presented to the full Board of LCRL for information and comment.
Staff at LCRL including staff from the LDSIP, RSS, Leader, Youth Service and Volunteer Centre held a special meeting at which ideas for additional transport provision were developed and a summary of the suggestions made is set out below:
•Calendar of events for one-off activities to facilitate better planning
•Transport to leisure facilities in Longford Town
•Transport to take sufferers of domestic violence to court
•Transport for social activities in the evenings
•Transport service to and from the two railway stations
•Transport for one off events
•Community car scheme for hospital out-patients
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•Transport for students to colleges in Athlone, Cavan, Sligo, Dublin
•Transport for children with special needs to and from school
•Prescription collection service for housebound people; raised as need by RSS staff
A member of staff from LCRL held a consultation event dealing with a wide range of issues for Polish people in Granard and a summary of the feedback around transport from that event is set out below:
•Transport to Dublin is inadequate; there are only three buses a day
•Transport to Longford is inadequate; there are only two buses a day at 8.30am and 13.00pm so you would have to work within these times
•There is little choice of employment in Granard but because of the poor transport service going to Longford is not an option
•The bus stop on the street should be recognisable as a bus stop.
5.5.12North Longford Working Group
A meeting of the North Longford Working Group was held as were telephone interviews with some members to gather their perceptions of the performance of the project, its success, any disappointments they may have, the extent to which it is addressing social inclusion and reaching target groups, any changes they would wish to make and any suggestions they had for inclusion in the new strategy. They unanimously indicated that they are very pleased with the progress made so far. The passengers are generally delighted with the service and there have been spin-offs including much greater socialising and a boost to trade in local towns. Older people who never learned to drive and were effectively housebound now have a new freedom and they are thrilled. The drivers are excellent and are really in touch with the passengers and aware of their needs and this in turn is helping to address social isolation in rural areas. There was considerable recognition for the work of the Rural Transport Co-ordinator.
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There could be a renewed promotional campaign to ensure numbers are maintained. One member considered that the providers themselves could do much more to help publicise the schemes. There is a need for additional routes such as from Derragh to Abbeylara and a social car scheme was particularly supported. More effort is needed to address the transport needs of young people; existing services are seen as mainly for elderly. While an evening service might be useful it would most likely prove difficult to attract minibus providers to take on such a service.
The Working Group could perhaps meet more often but should certainly be given more powers and authority. The members were generally in favour of the restructuring proposals contained in this document and were all very keen to continue their involvement.
5.6OTHER RESEARCH
The consultants attended the annual exhibition held by the Community Transport Association in Manchester and the consultants and the Rural Transport Co-ordinator the Local Sustainable Transport Event organised by the Community Transport Association of Ireland Ltd in Cavan.
5.7FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
Based on the research and consultation Longford as a county has a considerable rural transport deficit which is more pronounced in some areas than others.
5.7.1 A map overleaf shows the location of existing transport infrastructure in DEDs. Transport infrastructure is taken to include the existence within a DED of a rail station, a bus service of some form, a taxi or hackney base, a location for a private or community sector transport provider.
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(2) (3) (5)
Key: Railway Station Served by Public Bus Route Served by Rural Transport Programme Taxi/Hackney Location Bus/Coach Private/Community Provider Location At least 15% of households without a car
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5.7.2 The table below analyses each DED by access to transport infrastructure.
DED Location for Served by public Served by RTI Location of Location of private or At least 15% of train station bus service taxi/hackney community bus provider households without a service car Agharra Ballymahon Cashel East Cashel West Doory Forgney Foxhall Kilcommock Kilglass Ledwithstown Abbeylara Ballinalee Ballymuigh
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Bunlahy Columbkille Coolamber Creevy Crosagstown Currygrane Dalystown Drummeel Firry Gelshagh Granard Rural Granard Urban Knockanbaun Lislea Meathas Truim (Edgeworthstown) Milltown Moatfarrell Moyne Mullanalaghta
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Newgrove Sonnagh Aghaboy Ardagh East Ardagh West Ballinamuck East Ballinamuck West Breanrisk Caldragh Cloondara Cloonee Corboy Drumgort Drumlish Killashee Killoe Mountdavis Moydow Longford Rural
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Newtown Forbes Rathcline
An analysis of the table indicates that DEDs particularly lacking in transport infrastructure, i.e. those with absolutely no infrastructure, are:
Doory Forgney Ledwithstown Drumeel Currygrane Firry Moatfarrell Newgrove Aghaboy Cloondara Cloonee Drumgort Killoe
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Of those listed above only Drumgort has more than 15% of its population without a car which makes it the most disadvantaged DED in the county. There are clearly other DEDs which have very little infrastructure in that they are served only by a public bus service which is quite infrequent or by the RTI which is also infrequent.
5.7.3 Gaps in transport provision common to all the areas include:
•Transport serving all of the outlying rural areas to enable people to get to and from work in Longford
•Transport from outlying areas to enable people, especially those with disabilities and women without access to a car, to access further education and training opportunities offered in Longford and in the larger towns and villages by a variety of organisations
•Health related transport, especially to Tullamore hospital and to hospital appointments, visiting patients, day care etc at hospitals and day care centres in Longford Town and Mullingar; this will be even more of an issue as some services are concentrated in Tullamore and as oncology services have been terminated at Tullamore and transferred to Galway.
The table below, sourced from www.specialistinfo.com and from contacts with the hospitals, sets out the clinics held at hospitals in the region. It is very evident that people from Longford must travel outside the county to access many types of medical service.
CLINIC MULLINGAR ATHLONE TULLAMORE LONGFORD Accident and emergency Anaesthesia
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Cardiology Ear, nose throat Elderly medicine General medicine General surgery Gynaecology Haematology Histopathology Nephrology Oncology Opthalmology Orthopaedics Paediatrics Pathology Psychiatry Radiology Respiratory medicine Rheumatology
•Transport to allow people to attend VEC adult education courses across the county during the day and evenings
•Transport for all, but especially young people, men and elderly, into social, recreational and shopping facilities in Longford and the larger towns and villages
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•Transport for people with disabilities for a wide variety of reasons; this includes the provision of passenger assistance when needed
•Transport to enable mothers to take children to childcare facilities in the larger towns and villages.
Other findings include:
•The current rural transport services provided in North and South Longford are excellent and much appreciated by users but the disadvantages include that they operate at fixed times and on fixed days and cannot always leave passengers close to their destination in Longford
•There is very considerable unused vehicle capacity within the County
•There is a shortage of provision of fully accessible transport in the County
•There is an absence of collaborative working among providers especially in the community and voluntary sector
•There is both a need and an opportunity to provide appropriate training to drivers and passenger assistants
•The proposed changes to the legislation related to driving licences is expected to have a major impact on considerable numbers of rural dwellers, especially the elderly, who are currently driving on provisional licences. Many may not, for a variety of reasons, be able to acquire full licences and will consequently be unable to drive and will
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lose their current level of mobility.
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6. COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND INVOLVEMENT
6.1 APPROACH
Longford Rural Transport Project fully subscribes to community development principles and to rural, gender and poverty proofing it’s services.
To involve communities on an ongoing basis Longford RTI has made provision within its management structure for the appointment of several community representatives. It has also established two advisory groups, one for each part of the county, North and South and there is provision within these groups for extensive community representation.
The Longford RTP will maintain close working relationships with organisations such as the Community and Voluntary Forum and Longford Volunteer Centre.
6.2 TARGET GROUPS
Target groups were identified as older people, single males and lone parents in the strategies developed for North and South Longford but the scope of the service is now being extended to include other groups also and these are people with disabilities, men, women, new citizens and young people.
To involve these groups the Longford RTP will ensure they are represented on the advisory groups.
6.3 COMMUNICATION
Longford RTP will produce an annual report and circulate this report widely throughout the community sector and target groups. It will seek feedback from those to whom the report is sent.
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7. PROJECT PROPOSAL – TRANSPORT SERVICES
7.1 VISION
LCRL’s vision for rural transport in the county is:
“Rural dwellers throughout Longford have sustainable, affordable, reliable, accessible and convenient transport at times which enable them to have an acceptable quality of life.”
7.2 MISSION STATEMENT
The Mission Statement for the Longford Rural Transport Project is:
“To assist in combating social exclusion by widening travel choice through a community-led rural transport service.”
7.3APPROACH
The strategy is intended to ensure that the Project will meet the accessibility targets set in the Sectoral Plan of the Department of Transport under the Disability Act 2006 by:
•Introducing a number of services specially targeted at people with disabilities
•Ensuring the use of accessible vehicles
•Ensuring the provision of disability awareness training for all staff and for the staff within contracted providers
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•Providing all information materials in a range of accessible formats.
There is a distinct lack of accessible transport in the county at present and actions in the strategy will address this issue through the provision of incentives and it is hoped that additional funding from both Pobal and the new Rural Development Programme will assist with these costs.
The strategy also intends to integrate with existing transport providers, both public and private and to make sure that displacement of other operators is avoided or at least minimised by fully considering both issues of integration and displacement at the research stage of any new proposals.
7.4AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS
7.4.1 AIM 1: TO WIDEN TRAVEL CHOICE FOR RURAL DWELLERS
Objective 1.1
To ensure the project has access to the most up to date and accurate information which will facilitate local transport planning and lead to improvements and additions to service delivery
Actions:
•Continually collect and monitor data which will facilitate transport planning. This will entail liaison with relevant organisations such as HSE, VEC, FAS and the community and voluntary sectors. It will entail regularly accessing published and unpublished statistics on areas such as demographics, levels of car ownership, disability, lone parents and other groups. Contacts between the RTP and informal information sources such as home helps, psychiatric nurses and social workers will
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be established and such individuals advised of the services the RTP can provide, the type of information the RTP would welcome and the ways in which such information can be relayed to the RTP.
•Establish two Advisory Groups, one each in North and South Longford, which will each meet on a quarterly basis. These will replace the existing working groups but are expected to retain the members of those groups as local community representatives; on the Advisory Groups there will also be representatives of target groups, passengers in the locality and transport providers. Membership terms of the Groups will be open-ended and will be open to the whole community. Each Group will elect its own officers but ideally the groups will be chaired by the nominees who sit on the Project Steering Group.
•Network with other Rural Transport Projects and maintain a close working relationship with Pobal and the Department.
•Continually research and draw on examples of best practice from elsewhere and explore opportunities to apply these to the needs of local people.
Objective 1.2
To enhance and sustain existing transport services
Actions:
•Organise the delivery of appropriate training programmes for people involved in all providers as drivers and/or passenger assistants in rural transport provision
•Adopt the use of computerised scheduling such as that illustrated in APPENDIX K
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•Maintain an overview of quality of delivery and deal with any complaints from users
•Ensure all vehicles used are maintained and insured to proper standards
•Work with providers to minimise the downtime of their vehicles through the expansion of existing services, identification of new services and collaborative working among providers
•Work with providers to reduce operating costs, for example, by exploring group insurance cover, group purchasing, group maintenance initiatives
•Foster networking among providers and to expose providers to examples of good practice.
Objective 1.3:
To design new innovative rural transport services which will meet the identified needs of the target groups and reduce rural isolation.
Actions:
•Establish the following new routes:
Early morning (between 8am and 8.30am) services to Longford each weekday, returning at 6.00 or 6.30pm from Edgeworthstown, Ballymahon, Lanesboro and Keenagh to allow workers to access employment, others to access education and training opportunities and others to connect with trains to Dublin from both Longford and Edgeworthstown. These would all be fare-paying routes.
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The division of the current National Learning Network (NLN) service into two routes, one starting at Granard and going to Longford via Edgeworthstown and the other starting at Ballymahon and going to Longford via Lanesboro and Keenagh. Each would leave around 8.30am and return around 4.15pm. This would facilitate organisations like FAS and EDI in Longford town. If FAS trainees are involved travel allowances payable vary dependent on mileage travelled between €4.60 and €32.60 per week.
It should be noted that many other potential routes were identified during the course of the consultation and it is intended to carry out further research on a selection of these during the lifetime of this strategy.
•Explore the following new initiatives:
The introduction of a new social or community car scheme along the lines of the CLASP scheme in County Sligo (see APPENDIX L ).
The use of taxi vouchers for people with disabilities along the lines of the scheme in Avondhu in County Cork (see APPENDIX M ).
Both these schemes would in particular address the pressing need for travel to Tullamore and Longford hospitals for elderly people and people with disabilities and also target people outside the current rural transport provision.
A brokerage scheme to maximise use of existing vehicles within the county along the lines of the scheme in West Midlands (see APPENDIX N ). This would particularly target the provision of transport for young people in the evenings and at weekends.
•Support a pilot scheme which gives a local community access to its own dedicated minibus so they can meet very local needs. It may be possible to provide the minibus in a deal with one of the transport providers who has substantial spare capacity rather than have the group seek to raise money for the capital costs of the minibus. A draft
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work programme for this minibus might include a selection of some of the following:
Early morning: bus to take people to work in Longford or elsewhere as appropriate or to take students to college or to take parents and children to childcare
Mid-morning: bus to take elderly or housebound people to day care or to take women into the nearest large town for shopping and personal business
Early afternoon: bus to take parents and children back from childcare or to take children from primary schools to after school club or to take people to town for shopping
Mid-late afternoon: bus to take elderly and housebound people back home from day care or to pick up people from shopping trips
Early evening: bus to pick up returning workers or students
Evening: bus to take young people into youth club or to swimming pool etc in Longford or to take adults into local adult education classes or at weekends to bring elderly people, especially single men, into town for socialising.
Objective 1.4:
To proactively market and promote all rural transport services in the county to target audiences including: Local influencers such as key public sector, community and voluntary organisations; the wider community; the media.
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Actions:
•Branding : The project will adopt a new name and corporate identity. Possible names might be “On the Move” or “Longford on Wheels”. Obviously such branding will need to take into account national guidelines but there is a need to create a local identity.
Once a name is selected a logo should be professionally designed and this should be incorporated in all letterheads, stationery and signage. Clearly such material needs also to recognise the funding body.
•Ongoing publicity to include: press launches and photo opportunities to announce new routes/services; special events such as local Driver of the Year award; publications such as leaflets, flyers, posters; inserts in church bulletins; use of local newspaper correspondents; regular interviews on local radio; networking with other organisations.
•Involvement of all stakeholders in the promotion and marketing of the services; this includes the Project Steering Group, the Advisory Groups, the staff and the providers and existing users.
7.4.2 AIM 2: TO COMBAT SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN RURAL AREAS
Objective 2.1
To target service provision on groups which are particularly socially isolated such as older people, men, women, young people, people with disabilities and new citizens.
Actions:
•Regularly consult with target groups
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•Monitor trends in the population of target groups to ensure supply meets demand where possible
•Introduce a scheme of financial incentives to encourage providers to make their vehicles more accessible to people with disabilities
Objective 2.2
To engage rural communities in planning to meet the travel needs of socially isolated groups in their areas.
Action:
•Provide support for rural communities to prepare their own local transport plans; this will entail the organisation and delivery of a special training programme to train communities in the use of the POBAL Needs Analysis and to raise awareness among communities of the potential solutions so they can devise solutions which are tailored to local needs. The programme would include some mentoring support to participating groups.
Objective 2.3
To explore innovative approaches to ensuring socially excluded groups are fully informed and aware of services.
Actions:
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•A new dedicated Longford Rural Transport website which would include opportunities online for individuals to become registered members of the Longford Rural Travel Club and then to have the opportunity to post on a members only section details of journeys they are making using their own car and which they would be willing to share and journeys they would like to make but for which they do not have transport. This would also include a scheme for workers along the lines of that operated by Ring a Link in Carlow Kilkenny (see APPENDIX O ).
•Use of all vehicles used in rural transport to carry range of information leaflets on transport and other relevant services.
•Production of dedicated mailing list of intermediaries such as Public Health Nurses, Social Workers and GPs and circulation to that list at regular intervals information on transport provision.
7.4.3 AIM 3: TO MONITOR THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES AND EVALUATE THEIR PERFORMANCE.
Objective 3.1:
To establish structures and mechanisms which will allow for constant feedback from users and providers.
Actions:
•Establish two Advisory Groups which will constantly monitor service provision
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•Carry out regular customer feedback surveys
•Set up and maintain effective monitoring systems along the lines detailed in section 10 below.
Objective 3.2
To regularly seek opinion and feedback from other stakeholders.
Actions:
•Conduct an annual Social Audit
•Commission an independent external evaluation.
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8. PROJECT OPERATION AND TRAINING
8.1WORK TO BE UNDERTAKEN
This section details the work to be undertaken over the three years of the plan and defines the priority which will be attached to each action.
ACTION PRIORITY TIMING High Medium Low Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Collect and monitor data Establish advisory groups Networking Research Training programmes Computerised scheduling Oversee quality Ensure insurance, maintenance Work with providers Establish and maintain new routes for workers Establish and maintain new route, trainees NLN and other training organisations Community car scheme Taxi vouchers Brokerage scheme Pilot scheme, community minibus Marketing and promotion Target groups Community transport plans Website
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Leaflets on vehicles List of intermediaries
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Customer feedback surveys Monitoring systems Social audit External evaluation
8.2STAFFING
Given the extensive expansion of the project which is proposed and the developmental nature of much of that work it is proposed that the core staffing complement should be increased to be:
Project Manager, Project Worker, administrative assistant (initially part-time and moving to full time in line with demand).
Rural transport offers considerable opportunities for volunteering and a relationship will be maintained with the new Longford Volunteer Centre to identify volunteering opportunities and to attract suitable volunteers.
8.3TRAINING NEEDS, COUNTY TRANSPORT STEERING COMMITTEE AND STAFF
As indicated above, a Training Needs Analysis will be undertaken of the new county Transport Steering Committee members and of staff when they are in place but it is expected they will require training in areas such as:
•Strategic and business planning •Financial administration •Marketing and promotion •Human resource management •Negotiation skills
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•Legal issues including Health and Safety, Insurance, Child Protection, Equality etc •Networking.
Given the additional responsibilities being undertaken by the Steering Group there may be a particular need for additional training for the Project Manager.
8.4 NETWORKING
Establish a net-working and cross-learning system with other RTP’s to include Best in Class demonstrations and presentations on a quarterly basis country-wide, and achieve wider current representation on the Advisory Groups and ensure that these groups meet more regularly.
8.5 OPERATIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The project is supported by LCRL and so all relevant operational policies and procedures are in place as recognised by the recent review by Pobal.
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9. FINANCIAL PLAN
9.1 INDICATIVE BUDGET
An indicative budget for the project for years one to three is set out below. The assumptions which support the figures follow this table .
ITEM YR 1 YR 2 YR 3 Manager salary and PRSI 47,770 49,131 50,604 Project Officer salary and PRSI 35,642 36,711 37,812 Administrative assistant salary and PRSI 15,000 15,450 15,913 Pensions 4,770 10,129 10,433 Staff travel 5,000 5,250 5,512 Office costs 20,000 21,000 22,050 Computerised scheduling 25,000 Promotion and advertising 5,000 5,250 5,512 Training for CTSG members and staff 10,000 Training for drivers and passenger 5,000 3,000 2,000 assistants Evaluation 10,000 Current routes 150,000 157,500 165,375 New workers bus routes; promotion only 2,000 500 500 Division of NLN route, promotion only 1,000 500 500 Social car scheme 100,000 105,000 Taxi voucher scheme 72,000 100,000 150,000 Brokerage scheme 10,000 Training for community groups to produce 10,000 10,000 10,000 local area transport plans New website 5,000 2,000 2,000 Pilot community minibus 10,000 5,000 5,000 Incentives to providers for accessibility 40,000 15,000 10,000
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TOTAL 468,882 536,421 608,211
9.2 ASSUMPTIONS
Staff costs
Two full time and one part time staff. Salaries increased by 3% per annum. The Pobal pension contribution is 10% of gross salary costs. However, staff must be 1 year full time in LCRL before being eligible so the pension costs are 10% in year one for manager only and at 10% for the next two years for all three. Travel costs have been raised due to County Coverage and perhaps 2 workers at least using that budget.
Office costs
Includes allowance of increased rent due to moving office from Granard to Longford Town. Rent estimated at €10,000 pa, electricity, heat and light estimated at €3,000 pa and telephone, postage and stationery estimated at €7,000 pa.
Computerised scheduling
Based on quotation obtained from software supplier in UK; depending on size of scheme costs including three year maintenance are between £7,000 and £15,000; costs included in plan are for higher version.
Promotion and advertising
Includes costs of print material and limited media advertising and some local networking and outreach activities.
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Training for drivers and passenger assistants
Year one envisages greater uptake with years two and three targeting new entrants. It should be noted that the passenger assistants are expected to be volunteers. The figure covers the cost of tutors, facility costs, catering and training materials for 5 days in year 1, 3 in year 2 and 2 in year 3.
Evaluation
The figure is to cover external evaluation in year three.
Current routes
Figures based on estimates supplied by LCRL and increased annually by 5% to allow for increased charges from providers which are expected as a result of the re- tendering which will take place in 2008.
New workers bus routes:
Costs are for initial advertising and promotion. Four fare-paying routes will be provided and will all be launched at the one time.
Division of NLN Route
Costs are for initial advertising and promotion. Routes are expected to be self- sustaining based on NLN maintaining existing contribution and input from FAS travel allowances.
Social car scheme
Based on costs of CLASP scheme in Co Sligo gained through analysis of ADM/Pobal annual reports for past 4 years. The scheme will target DEDs which do not have any transport infrastructure and will aim for 6 cars in year one, 10 in year two and 15 in year three with each one driving an average of 100 kilometres a month, i.e. 12,000
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kilometres a year at average of €1 per kilometre. Costs in year one will be €72,000, in year two will be €100,000 and in year three will be €150,000.
Taxi voucher scheme
Based on costs of Avondhu scheme in Co Cork gained through analysis of ADM/Pobal annual reports for past 4 years. It is planned to give vouchers for somewhere around 100,000 taxi kilometres a year and that could be divided as follows depending on need and demand 50 people getting 200 kilometres a year, 100 people getting 100 kilometres a year and so on.
Brokerage scheme
Costs to include technical assistance and costs of inter-organisation liaison.
Training for community groups to produce transport plans
Costs are estimated for one training course each year; each course to target 8-10 communities and to include capacity building and mentoring support.
New website
Costs are for design and maintenance of new dedicated website for the project.
Pilot community minibus
Costs will include some technical assistance and contribution to marketing and promotion.
Incentives to providers for accessibility
Costs will cover grant aid on a discretionary basis towards capital costs of encouraging selection of local transport providers to improve the accessibility of their vehicles . Quotation from English converter reveals rear doors twin opening and
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automatic rear tail gate and personal hoist can be done for around £4-5,000 or €7,500. At that rate it would be possible to give around 8 grants.
9.3 POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INCOME
Longford RTI is committed to accessing every possible additional source of finance. Clearly, POBAL, through the Rural Transport Programme is the expected main funder but there are other potential sources which will be maximised including:
•Income generation •POBAL’s Community Services Programme which may, for example, suit the proposal to develop w pilot where a group would have its own minibus •Support from the HSE to assist it to reduce the amount currently spent on taxis in the region •Rural Development Programme, 2008-2013
9.4 VALUE FOR MONEY
The project will ensure value for money is secured for Exchequer funding through a process of strict budgetary control and through the use of competitive tendering for any services to be contracted out.
9.5 FINANCIAL CONTROLS AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES
The project is supported by LCRL and as evidenced by the recent Pobal review, all necessary financial controls and accounting procedures are in place.
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10. MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REVIEW
10.1 MONITORING
A monitoring system, which sets out the data to be gathered and the methods or sources to be used for gathering data, is set out below:
DATA METHOD/SOURCE OF COLLECTION Numbers of journeys made Drivers logs Numbers of passengers carried Drivers logs, journeys booked, tickets sold Profile of passengers carried by gender Annual or quarterly survey and approximate age Profile of passengers carried by sector e.g. Annual or quarterly survey disabled, workers, students etc Locations of passengers Annual or quarterly survey, bookings Reliability of services to include Drivers logs, feedback from passengers punctuality Satisfaction levels among users Annual satisfaction surveys Health and safety incidents Drivers log, accident book in project office Complaints Complaints register in project office
10.2EVALUATION
The project will be subject to internal and external evaluation. Internal evaluation will be conducted by staff using the Social Audit model, (see APPENDIX P ).
External evaluation will be commissioned by competitive tender every three years.
10.3REVIEW
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The Project Steering Committee will be monitoring the project on a regular basis but will hold a special performance review meeting each year at which progress on the delivery of the strategy will be assessed and achievement of performance measures examined.
A proper complaints system will be established – along the lines of that recommended in the Sectoral Plan of the Department of Transport under the Disability Act 2006 - and the annual review will examine the record of complaints to see if any particular trends are emerging.
Finally, during the review sessions, the Committee will consider how the project is impacting positively on equality, poverty, environment and rural development.
In terms of equality the gender percentages of users and the percentage of users who have a disability will be examined. In terms of poverty, the percentage of passengers using Free Travel Passes will be assessed. In terms of the environment, the reduction in numbers of car journeys affected through the services provided will be assessed and finally, in relation to rural development the impact on the quality of rural life and the local economy will be assessed.
The views of the Advisory Committees will be sought during this process.
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11. PARTNERSHIP, CO-OPERATION AND CO-ORDINATION
11.1PARTNERSHIP
The Project is fully committed to the principles and practices of partnership working. LCRL itself is a Partnership Company and the Project has a Steering Committee which is a partnership of all relevant stakeholders: LCRL, statutory bodies, community and voluntary sector, transport providers and service users. The Project Steering Committee is also supported by two Advisory Groups which are in turn models of partnership working.
11.2 CO-OPERATION
The Project will actively pursue co-operation at all levels but particularly at the level of local providers and local communities. It is, for example, proposing to introduce a brokerage service which will maximise the use of existing vehicles within the county and is also proposing to encourage individual communities to prepare their own local transport plans in which local co-ordination of activities and services and co-operation among providers and communities will be integral elements.
11.3 CO-ORDINATION
The project is operating on a county-wide basis and includes all key agencies within its management structure so is particularly well placed to adopt a co-ordinating role in rural transport provision within the county. Proposals for new routes, amendments to existing services and any other new developments will be brought first to the Project Steering Committee who will ensure that the proposals fit within the overall strategy. LCRL maintains a very close working relationship with the Longford CDB and it should be noted that the strategy addresses the conclusions of the CDB’s Rural Transport Audit completed in 2003:
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•Structured form of community involvement in the identification of transport needs; in place through Steering Group and Advisory Groups
•Provision of user-friendly travel information; partly in place and proposals included for improvements
•Appointment of Local Transport Co-ordinator; in place
•Establishment of local Transport Forum; in place through Steering Group and Advisory Groups
•Maximisation of use of existing vehicles; proposals to address this issue included in strategy.
12. COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING
12.1COMMUNICATION TOOLS
The project proposes to promote the services offered using the following communications tools:
•Branding and signage to increase awareness and recognition of the services
•New dedicated website which will include details of all services and provide opportunities for registered users to record their transport needs
•Widespread and sustained use of the media, both press and radio, by issuing regular press releases, organising photo opportunities, holding launches to mark start of new
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routes, holding events to mark milestones such as 1,000 passenger carried on a particular route
•Use of local correspondents in newspapers
•Use of church bulletins
•Production of dedicated list of influencers to include Public Health Nurses, Social Workers, GPs etc and mailing these people regularly to ensure they are fully aware of the services and are informing their clients of them
•Production and dissemination of leaflets, flyers and posters in variety of formats to facilitate access by people with disabilities
•Maintenance of close relationships with key organisations such as Community and Voluntary Forum. Volunteer Centre, Older Peoples Network etc
•Production and dissemination of an annual report to all stakeholders.
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13. RISK MANAGEMENT
13.1 RISK
As in any project there will be risks which the project will need to manage. These are set out below together with proposals to manage the risk.
Failure to attract sufficient numbers of users:
Robust needs analysis to identify potential users and minimise risk of failure Involvement of local communities to maximise community ownership and support for the services Planned communications strategy to ensure all potential users and influencers are aware of services
Failure to retain users:
Maintenance of quality, reliable, consistent service Use of quality vehicles Use of drivers/passenger assistants with good communications skills Training of drivers/passenger assistants Ongoing communication with users through surveys etc
Failure to meet other targets e.g. financial:
Preparation of realistic budgets Accurate recording of income and expenditure Monitoring monthly of variances in income and expenditure
Fraud:
Careful selection of staff and operators Consistent monitoring of all data Spot checks
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Use of proper financial procedures
Health and safety incidents:
Check on quality standards being maintained by providers Training for drivers/passenger assistants Educating passengers in their responsibilities for contributing to their own personal safety e.g. wearing seat belts, remaining seated while vehicle is in motion etc.
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