Transport scheme powers students to knowledge

A rural transport scheme at a college in Lancashire is revving up to give students the ‘wheel to work’.

Mopeds, taxis and cycles are all being made available to students at Runshaw College, Euxton to offer a flexible form of public transport. The project also provides a demand-responsive bus service, run by a local community transport operator, which transports students to classes in the evenings.

"This is a highly innovative project to make it simpler for people to return to education," said county councillor Jean Yates. "Education is the gateway to success in life and it would be quite wrong if people in rural areas were deterred simply because they have transport problems.

"It is, in fact, a highly cost-effective means of solving the problem - cheaper than providing buses and far better than expecting hard-up students to buy their own car."

The Wheels to Learning scheme started in March 2002 with funding provided by Lancashire County Council and the Countryside Agency.

Councillor Yates added: "One of the main barriers to adults returning to education is transport. Adult learners quite often have other commitments, including family activities, which are not flexible enough to fit in with the existing public transport service. Many have no other form of transport apart from the Wheels to Learning project."

Mopeds, cycles and the demand-responsive bus service are the backbone of the scheme, with taxis available for emergency use.

For further information please contact: Neil Graham, neil.graham@css.lancscc.gov.uk