Spotlight on Exeter Community Transport

We recently caught up with Christian Walsh, the manager at Exeter Community Transport Association, who are taking a delivery of one of our Mercedes Sprinter minibuses in a couple of weeks. He spoke to us about their vital work across the city, what the new minibus will mean for association and the importance of volunteers in keeping the service running.

You can read and watch the full interview below to find out more about what the organisation has planned for the future.

GM: What’s your name and role? 

CW: My name is Christian Walsh and I am the manager of Exeter CTA.  

GM: You’ve come into this role from a completely different sector. What attracted you to work in community transport? 

CW: It was chance really. I was previously in a very high-pressure job. Unfortunately, I had a heart attack while I was surfing in Cornwall and I needed a drastic lifestyle change. A friend of a friend mentioned that this job was coming up and it seemed really appealing  and different, so I thought I’d give it a go.  

GM: What were your first impressions of the sector and the people involved in it? 

CW: Immediately, I was a bit blown away by it all really because it was so different to anything I’d done before and helping people every day, I found it really rewarding straight away. That’s why I’m still here now. 

GM: Is there anything from your previous role that you hope to bring to Exeter CTA? 

CW: In my previous role, I had quite a lot of staff that I managed and needed very good organisational skills, working to tight deadlines. So I think all of that has come in really useful in the role that I’m in now. 

GM: What kinds of journeys do people rely on your service for? 

CW: We offer two types of journeys. We offer the essential shopping trips which allows people the independence to actually buy their own shopping rather than relying on helper or people choosing their shopping for them. But, I’d say more importantly are the social trips which get people out of their homes, they socialise with friends. They’ve made lots of new friends on these trips and it’s just really lovely to see people happy, going out and maintaining their independence. 

GM: Does community transport offer something that mainstream public transport often can’t? 

CW: Yeah, I think there’s definitely the personal touch, everyone has really good relationships with the drivers. Our drivers are amazing, they go above and beyond what’s required and there’s genuine friendships between the drivers and the passengers which I think is a really nice touch. 

GM: What are your main priorities over the coming months? 

CW: Obviously, we’ve got a new minibus coming which is going to allow us help even more people. We’re in a growing city where more and more people are asking to use our services and a lot of our social trips, in particular, are fully subscribed. So, it’s just really to help more and more people, more passenger journeys and get people out and about. 

GM What will this new vehicle mean for the organisation? 

CW: It’s going to be a game changer because it’s more reliable. The vehicle we’ve got at the moment is quite old – it does have issues. I think for the passengers as well, it’s going to be really nice for them because our current bus isn’t the most comfortable. I think they’ll be over the moon when we get the new bus. 

GM: Are there particular groups, routes or activities that will benefit from the new vehicle? 

CW: I’ve got a waiting list of people who want to use us already and we’re getting more and more enquiries every week from various parts of the city. So, we cover quite a big area but there’s also places where we haven’t touched, as such, yet. There’s Cranbrook, for example, Broadclyst, lots of outlying areas that we haven’t been able to offer our services to just because a lack of resources. 

GM: Do you think community transport is sometimes overlooked compared with other local services? 

CW: Most definitely. We tend to go under the radar a lot of the time. A lot of that is probably because we are offering something that no one else offers and we’re not really funded by the government in any way shape or form. I think a big pat on the back should be given to all the CTA’s for continuing to offer, what is, a brilliant service. Otherwise, people would be housebound and unable to get out and socialise. 

GM: Community transport often depends heavily on volunteers. What has impressed you about the volunteer team so far? 

CW: Everything really. A massive range of knowledge and experience which, you now, you can’t really teach experience. A lot of our volunteers have been professional drivers, they come from all walks of life and the absolute wealth of knowledge is what’s impressed me. 

GM: Are you hoping to recruit more volunteers or drivers? 

CW: Yes we are, we’re always trying to recruit. It’s getting a bit more difficult but anyone’s always welcome to approach us. We can always find a role for somebody.

GM: What would you say to someone considering volunteering for their local community transport association? 

CW: I’d say do it! It’s pretty life changing, eye-opening and it gives you a great sense of achievement. It’s very, very rewarding. 

GM: Can you tell us a little bit about the mobility scooter project you have been working on? 

CW: It’s kind of exploded this year! The main aim is to make mobility accessible to all, that’s our ethos. We try to keep everything as affordable as possible so it’s reachable for people on low incomes. The feedback we get from our customers is amazing and they tell us what a difference it’s made to their lives so that’s enough to keep us going.