Innovations - Free transport to help the unemployed

Vivienne Riddoch, Regeneration & Renewal, 11 July 2008

Frett: Free bus travel for unemployed

To counter this, welfare-to-work programme provider Pertemps People Development Group has teamed up with local transport group Arriva in the Teesside area. Unemployed clients get free bus travel to and from the group's offices and training sites and subsequently, if they get a job, to the workplace.

In addition, its services for disadvantaged groups such as lone parents are advertised free on Arriva's fleet and clients are encouraged to apply for jobs with the firm, from bus driving to cleaning and administrative work.

For whichever job they go for, they are helped through the recruitment process, for example with tutoring on creating their CV, and supported once in a job. Mark Fryett, manager of the group's Middlesbrough centre, answers our panel's questions.

Q: How did you identify this as a gap in the market?

A: Our job is to remove barriers to work and get people into permanent jobs. One of the biggest barriers to finding work is getting around, particularly when you don't have your own car, so it seemed logical that we formed a partnership which benefits all parties. Arriva, the area's largest public transport provider, ensures that our clients can access our centres, training and then jobs.

Q: How far are people travelling to use your service?

A: Our offices cover an area of 80-100 miles, with our Redcar centre covering the most rural areas. There are lots of small pit villages that might have just one bus an hour; it can take an hour-and-a-half to go 20 miles into Middlesbrough.

Q: How do you pay for the bus journeys?

A: We buy batches of tickets from Arriva. When clients attend centres we give them a ticket to get home and one for when they next come in. When they start work, we can provide a weekly pass until they are paid.

Q: Where does the funding for the scheme come from?

A: Funding comes from the Department for Work and Pensions, the European Social Fund and the Learning and Skills Council. We cover any remaining costs.

Q: Can people use the service to get temporary work?

A: Part of our contract as a welfare-to-work provider is to get people into what's termed "sustainable employment" of 13 weeks or longer. So we don't promote temporary work, but we will support people who take on short-term contracts.

Q: Do you plan to extend the scheme to other types of transport?

A: If it's easier for someone to get on a train to visit us or take up training then we already provide train tickets as an alternative. Generally, when people have started work they are more likely to use the train and, if they aren't going to be paid for four weeks, then we'll buy them a monthly pass. We've also been looking into how we can use minibuses belonging to community-based bodies to get people to interviews, training or work, perhaps supplying them with a driver as a local resource.

THE PANEL

Questions were compiled with help from Victoria Bradford, policy consultant at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, and Jackie Langley, manager of the Owen employment project.

Contact us: If you know of an innovative scheme that merits closer scrutiny, email Adam Branson at adam.branson@haymarket.com.