About CT4N Charitable Trust
Download a factsheet here
What does CT4N Charitable Trust Do?
CT4N Charitable Trust is the new name for Nottingham Community Transport. We are a registered charity (No. 700463) set up in 1979 to help people in Nottingham tackle social isolation and promote community cohesion across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. We’re a fully accessible transport service dedicated to helping some of the most vulnerable people who live in Nottingham and surrounding districts. Older people and those with sensory and mobility impairments especially benefit from our services. We work hard to reduce social isolation by increasing accessibility and mobility, and connecting people to where they want to go. We are a notfor-profit organisation which means we can provide services at low-cost.
What services do we provide?
We provide a range of services for the local community where transport is a barrier. These include:
Easylink – an accessible door to door service designed to meet the needs of passengers who find it difficult to use mainstream public transport. Funded by the City and County Council’s, this is ideal for health, shopping and leisure activities, with pick up points and destinations within the Robin Hood boundary. The service operates Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5 pm and needs to be pre-booked.
Easylink+ - a supplementary service that operates outside the core hours of Easylink and also for trips across Nottinghamshire and beyond.
Group Travel – this offers affordable minibuses which are available for use by a wide range of community and voluntary groups, on a self-drive basis or with a driver provided by us.
CT4N Trips - provides a range of tailor-made trips and excursions to a wide variety of destinations at competitive prices
How has the team managed with the Coronavirus Pandemic?
We’ve been working all through the pandemic, so we know that some people were forced to stay at home on their own and have found lockdowns tough. We’ve improved how we do things and now reach out to people with a telephone befriending service for our most vulnerable users. This has enabled us to determine who needs some extra help and for us to offer a listening ear. We now offer a collection and delivery service for prescriptions, undertake essential shopping and can deliver meals to those in need. We also provide transport for people to access their Covid vaccinations.
What training do we provide?
For those groups that want to use our self-drive minibuses, we know it can be a bit daunting, so we have a great team who provide specific training on the safe operation of minibuses – all our driver’s hold the nationally-recognised MiDAS training standard. If you don’t fancy driving that’s fine too. We can provide you with a driver for your group, so you can take the stress and worry away.
How can we help you?
Whether you live on your own and need someone to talk to, or fancy joining us on one of our trips, we’re at the end of a phone. All of our drivers are all fully trained so you’re guaranteed a warm welcome if you use our services. If you are a community or voluntary group and are making plans to go out and about, then why not contact us for a competitive quote. We also have vehicles available in the evenings and weekends.
How can you help us?
By using our services, you really are benefiting your local community. So, if you’re having trouble getting out and about or fancy one of our day trips then give us a call. We’ve got exciting plans to extend the range of services that we provide - not just community transport. If you’ve got a few hours to spare and would like to volunteer to help then please get in touch with us. At the start of the pandemic lots of people offered to help their local community and we want to build on this. Volunteering has a huge range of benefits. Whether that is volunteering to drive one of our minibuses, or being part of our telephone befriending service, we would love to hear from you. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, it’s about supporting your local community.
What plans do we have for the future?
We want to make sure our services are accessible and inclusive to everyone who needs them. So, as well as the Easylink services, we’re working with the local community to promote our Group Travel service for any local community and voluntary groups, to help them get out and about more. We are also extending our range of trips and want to work more closely with our Easylink users who live on their own, with the aim of encouraging social interaction. This includes door to door transport provided by one of our fully trained drivers. We are happy to discuss any kind of transport or mobility need in the community to see if we can find a solution.
We try to ensure our services are responsive, professional and friendly… but don’t just take our word for it...
"We have been working with Nottingham Community Transport now for a few years…the service they provide is exceptional, they are the nicest people you could possibly meet for a start and always have the time to help you in any way they can! They always go above and beyond making sure passengers are safe and well looked after… The buses are always clean and well-presented and they make sure they are fit for the people travelling. I think they provide an amazing service from first contact to book till last drop off after a trip, I really can’t recommend them enough, always happy to help and assist in any way they can!"
Nicola Perkins (Activity Coordinator), Nottingham City Homes.
"Jigsaw provides activities and trips for young people on the Autistic Spectrum. We have been involved with Nottingham Community Transport for many years, hiring their minibuses for daytrips or for extended periods. This has allowed young people with life limiting conditions to access experiences which would otherwise have been unavailable to them. The service we have received is brilliant. The vehicles are always clean and reliable. We can also access the vehicles at our own convenience, rather than depending on ‘office hours’ which allows for greater flexibility in our planning. The staff are friendly and extremely helpful, going the extra mile to ensure that our needs are met and making sure that everything is done in a straightforward and professional manner".
Danek Jackowski (Project Leader), Jigsaw Youth Club
"The range of trips were a huge asset to me when I was the Chair of the Social Activities Committee and organiser of the social activities. There was nothing previously that supported us so much and certainly has been nothing since. The outings on offer were exactly the right ones for our age group here, as were the coach capacity. Also, as I was delighted to discover, you were able to arrange a special outing for the group that was not in your programme. All the drivers were excellent and very supportive of the age group here – and very tolerant of those participants who felt that it was their job to entertain them with horrendous musical offerings during the journey".
Jenny Thirtle-Denman (former Chair of Social Activities Committee), Winwood Heights
For more from the charity check out our Facebook page here
