More than half a million journeys were made using community transport in Greater Manchester last year, according to new research.

The report for the Greater Manchester Community Transport Forum was launched at a special event to promote the impact community transport is having on people’s lives across the region.

The research also found that volunteer drivers provide the equivalent of £190,000 of their time for free, and that nearly 90 percent of trips help passengers get to education or health facilities, or to work.

Councillor Matt Colledge, Chair of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, chaired the event. He said: “This research shows that community transport is clearly helping to fill a gap.

“It’s a massive benefit for people who are unable to use conventional public transport, either because there isn’t a service near them or due to their personal circumstances.

"That’s why today we’ve announced plans to invest a further £120,000 to pay for vehicles and to support community transport projects. I’m sure it will be money well spent.”

Neil Foley, Chair of the Community Transport Forum, commented: “Community transport provides a service where there aren’t any bus routes, at times to suit the passenger.

“We are delighted and extremely grateful for the funding for the forum and its members announced by Cllr Colledge today. We’ll continue to try to improve people’s quality of life in the future by providing more services, and spreading the word about community transport.”

The ‘Making an Impact’ event was held at the Museum of Science & Industry. Representatives from Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and Transport for Communities were among those taking part at the event. Miranda Carter, Head of the Access & Equalities Unit at the Department for Transport, was also a guest speaker.

The report launched at the event found that passengers made 537,000 journeys using community transport last year.

Audits were carried out on 11 community transport operators in Greater Manchester to put together the research.