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Q. What training is available for drivers of community minibuses?
The CTAUK and Hampshire County Council in England have developed a suite of training courses for the drivers of community minibuses and they are listed below:
| MiDAS - Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme (Please click on logo to access details) |
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| MiDAS Car & MPV (Please click on logo to access details) |
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| PATS - Passenger Assistant Training Scheme (Please click on logo to access details) |
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The CTAUK has appointed a Training Agent dedicated to the Republic of Ireland for the above programmes and the CTAIS has negotiated special rates for CTAI members to enable driver assessor trainers and passenger assistant trainers to be trained here.
The CTAIS is also working with the CTAUK to "localise" the materials for all the above programmes to ensure that all references to regulations, legislation and procedures are based on those of the Republic of Ireland.
In addition, the CTAIS has been able to negotiate special rates for CTAI members on training such as Minibus Emergency Evacuation Procedures and Manual Handling.
Q. How do we get Garda Clearance for our staff?
At present it is not possible to obtain Garda Clearance directly unless your organisation is linked with the Health Service Executive in some way and the HSE is willing to allow this. However, in the light of various recent events and pressure from the Community & Voluntary Sector, the Government is looking at a more extensive and comprehensive system.
Q. How do we get information on the penalty points incurred by our drivers?
This can only be done in agreement with each individual driver, who has to contact the authority who issued his/her licence and get a print out of the status of their licence.
Q. What is Social Auditing and how can it help CT groups?
Social auditing is an important tool because it enables an organisation to review what it is doing and why; report on its performance and the benefits to the local community; provide the information essential for planning future action and improving performance. It sets out the social, economic and environmental impact of an organisation and allows for independent verification.
The CTAIS is developing a Social Auditing Handbook for community transport organisations, which will be launched in the Autumn of 2006. As part of the process of developing the handbook, the CTAIS has been undertaking social audits with a number of CT groups in the border area and elsewhere in the Republic.
Contact has also been made with the Institute of Social Auditing of Ireland in order to organise training for CTAI and CTANI members in social auditing techniques based on the material contained in the handbook.
Q. What is Vehicle Brokerage?
Various models of vehicle brokerage have been identified over the past 20 years in Ireland and Britain. These include:
Existing community transport organisation negotiates agreements with other vehicle owning groups in their area for use of those vehicles.
Existing vehicle owning groups and groups without vehicles establish an association through which vehicles can be made more widely available.
Local groups at neighbourhood or village level join together to manage a shared vehicle.
"Same interest" groups, e.g. youth groups, active age groups, groups of disabled people, join together to manage a shared vehicle.
The CTAIS can organise for you a training session on vehicle brokerage, based on one which has been used and refined in Ireland and Britain at local, regional and national levels over the past 20 years.
Q. Where can we get information on accessible vehicles?
The CTAIS has information on how to design and purchase accessible minibuses, including a list of coachbuilders and converters in Ireland and Britain. The CTAIS can also deliver a training session on this topic and on managing a community minibus.
Q. Can you tell me anything about using biofuels in our bus?
CTAI is working with Clare Accessible Transport, which is adapting two of its minibuses to operate with biofuel derived from rapeseed oil. The feasibility study, funded by Clare LEADER, includes the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the two minibuses over the next few months. It will conclude with a report on the use of these biofuels, which will result in the production by the CTAIS of a good practice guide.
This is being done in the context of both national and EU developments. The Irish Government has granted excise duty relief to a number of biofuel producers and the European Commission has proposed new legislation aimed at contributing towards the creation of a market for "clean" vehicles in order to reduce pollutant emissions in the transport sector. By requiring public bodies to earmark a quarter of their annual procurement requirements to such vehicles, the new European rules will make it possible to give manufacturers the assurances they need in order to develop these vehicles for a wider market.
Q. What are the new digital tachographs all about?
A digital tachograph is an electronic system for recording driving and rest times for drivers and co-drivers of commercial vehicles. Vehicle speed, distance travelled and other system-related parameters are also logged. Data is stored in a memory (mass memory) inside the unit and on driver-specific smart cards (driver cards). Central to the introduction of digital tachograph technology is the provision of smart cards for use by drivers, companies, calibration workshops and enforcement officers.
The introduction of digital tachograph technology to replace the existing analogue recording devices in new commercial lorries and buses became mandatory within the EU from May 2006.
The CTAIS has produced an Advice Note on digital tachographs, which is available for downloading or obtainable by contacting us
Cross Border Community Transport Forum