In February 2023 Age Connects Morgannwg (ACM) conducted a transport survey to understand why we frequently received requests to help get people to and from appointments. We also wanted to identify any barriers that might be stopping people from using existing transport provision.

The survey reached a large audience after being widely shared on social media and with organisations across our operating areas of Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil. The survey was also distributed to older people’s organisations across Wales and past and present users of our services. It was open to all ages and locations, but the largest response came from those aged 60 to 79 years of age, who formed 57% of all responses, and 97% of responders lived in our areas of operation.

Analysis of the survey responses revealed some key themes. Transport accessibility, time and cost was identified by a number of respondents as the key reason they struggled to make important appointments, including medical ones. With 53% of responders not having their own transport and 79% living on a bus route, there was a clear desire to make more use of public transport, but accessibility and timetable issues often prevented people from doing so.

The survey gave people a chance to share their personal experiences of the transport network. One respondent said, “Today I wanted to go and visit a group but the bus didn't come and so I couldn't go, it’s very bad.” Another recorded that “Transport has been cut from where I live because of work on the A465, this means that I now have to walk to get a bus. It’s not so bad on the way down but then I have to walk back up the hill, with heavy shopping and a walking stick, it's impossible.”

Others used the survey to tell us how they would benefit from better transport provision, “I would love to be able to get out of the house and visit my local town with support, just to have a change of scenery and chat to different people.” Another said, “Shopping trips with a safe pick up and set down place would be marvellous.”

In recent years ACM have supported more than 1600 people with their transport needs. This included taking people to Covid vaccinations, hospital appointments, shopping trips and more. In some cases, the transportation had been scheduled, but on other occasions had been provided after urgent requests when their planned transport had failed to materialise. The service we provide is sometime transport only, but often includes a trusted chaperone.

As a charity we have often needed to utilise funding streams to meet the need for transport. In 2022 we received funding to support older people with dementia and their carers which we used to set up a coffee morning. It soon became apparent that getting to the weekly event was a major issue for potential attendees, so we used some of the funding to offer a free minibus to take people to and from the coffee morning. Within 3 months the transport was full, clearly illustrating the need for this service.

It was as a result of this continued demand that we decided to undertake a transport survey. We wanted to understand if there was a sufficient demand to support a new service and if so, what kind of help would users need to access it. As a charity we pride ourselves on listening to older people and ensuring the services we provide are needed, a survey like this is an important part of how we achieve this goal.

It is hoped that the results of this survey will support our efforts to set-up a transport service based on a genuine need of older people. We will seek funding for this, as well as talking to other organisations who may be able to work in partnership with us.

Age Connects Morgannwg received £2,000 funding from Aberystwyth University through its ‘Transport issues in the Community’ award to cover the costs undertaking this reserach.