Community transport operations manager Job Information | National Careers Service

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Community transport operations manager

Hours

40 per week
Starting salary

£20,000 + per year

The work

Community transport is a local service for people who are unable to use other forms of transport, for example the elderly, disabled and schoolchildren.

As a community transport operations manager, it would be your job to oversee the day-to-day delivery of the service. Your duties would include:

organising service and staff rotas
recruiting and managing staff
managing the booking service
keeping vehicle maintenance schedules
organising staff training
marketing and advertising the service
making sure services comply with relevant legislation.

You would be responsible for supervising community transport drivers and passenger assistants.

Hours

You would work around 40 hours a week, full-time. Depending on the service, you may have to work weekends. Early starts are common.

You would mainly be office-based and spend most of your time at a computer. You may sometimes be required to perform passenger assistant duties. See the job profile for community transport passenger assistant for more details about this role.

Community Transport Passenger Assistant

Income

Starting salaries can be from £20,000 to £25,000 a year
With experience, this can rise to £30,000 a year

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

The most common way into this career is to work your way up from other roles in community transport. See the related profiles for more information about these roles.

Employers usually expect you to be educated to A Level standard, or equivalent, with a good level of maths and English. Experience of managing people and services would also give you an advantage when looking for work.

You may need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance for this job. See the CRB website for more details.

Criminal Records Bureau

Training and development

Once you are working, you could take the NVQ in Managing in Road Passenger Transport, levels 3 and 4.

Other options include industry related qualifications such as the Certificate of Professional Competence in National Passenger Transport offered by Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR). See the OCR website for more details.

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations

Skills and knowledge

organisation and planning skills
People skills and an understanding of good customer service
good communication skills
IT skills
the ability to manage a budget
staff management experience
an interest in the delivery of transport services
an understanding of relevant legislation, for example Health and Safety.

More information

People 1st (Opens new window)
2nd Floor
Armstrong House
38 Market Square
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 1LH
Tel: 01895 817 000
www.people1st.co.uk

Community Transport Association (Opens new window)
Highbank
Halton Street
Hyde
Cheshire
SK14 2NY
Tel: 0845 130 6195
www.ctauk.org

Careers in Passenger Transport (Opens new window)
www.careersinpassengertransport.org

Opportunities

You can find opportunities in most areas of the country, with public, private and voluntary organisations.

Vacancies are usually advertised in the local press, and on the websites listed below. Many community transport organisations are run by local councils, therefore jobs may be advertised on your local authority or community transport association websites.

With experience, you could move into managing transport operations for other companies. You could also take on more senior roles within community transport, for example service director.

You may find the following useful for job vacancies and general reading: (links open in new window)

LG Jobs
Jobs Go Public
A2Binfo
Directgov - (Jobseekers page)

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The community transport industry is represented by People 1st, the Sector Skills Council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism. The passenger transport sector incorporates rail, aviation, bus and coach, taxi and private hire, light rail and metro, driver training, and UK waterways. The sector accounts for 735,000 jobs, most of which are within the bus and coach, taxi and private hire, rail, and aviation industries. The passenger transport sector includes a wide variety of roles, from pilots and transport planners, to essential support roles in finance, marketing and human resources.

The community transport industry in the UK provides a vital service to people who are unable to easily access other forms of public transport. Services include driving, passenger assistance and service coordination and planning, which are provided through cars, minibuses and coaches. A significant percentage of community transport operations are based in rural locations in order to supply better services in areas where other public transport services do not exist. Community transport work is undertaken by local authorities or by specialist organisations. Some private coach and bus operators also provide community transport services.

Key facts:

There are around 10,000 people working in the community transport industry.
There are hundreds of organisations of varying sizes; some have large numbers of employees whilst others have lots of volunteers.
Many positions in the industry are voluntary or part‐time.
94% of companies employ at least one part‐time person.
Opportunities for progression within the industry can be limited.

Jobs in the industry fall into the following areas:

Driving – such as car, minibus and coach driver
Passenger support – such as passenger assistant
Operations management – such as operations assistant, operations manager

National and regional data

[N.B. Regional data presented are for the passenger transport sector as a whole. Data derived from the Labour Force Survey, 2007.]

East Midlands – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 14% of the workforce in the region is female. 14% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 62% is 26‐49 years and 32% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; Welsh language; job related IT; and safety/accident management.

East of England – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 25% of the workforce in the region is female. 9% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 7% of the workforce is under 25 years, 52% is 26‐49 years and 41% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; job related IT; Welsh language; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

London – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 20% of the workforce in the region is female. 42% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 4% of the workforce is under 25 years, 70% is 26‐49 years and 26% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; foreign languages; safety/accident management; booking operations; and logistics and scheduling of services.

North East – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 17% of the workforce in the region is female. 3% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 51% is 26‐49 years and 41% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; Welsh language; and safety/accident management.

North West – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 16% of the workforce in the region is female. 14% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 61% is 26‐49 years and 33% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; disability awareness; Welsh language; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

South East – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 25% of the workforce in the region is female. 11% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 48% is 26‐49 years and 36% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; and job related IT.

South West – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 19% of the workforce in the region is female. 4% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 4% of the workforce is under 25 years, 56% is 26‐49 years and 40% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; job related IT; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

West Midlands – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 19% of the workforce in the region is female. 27% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 7% of the workforce is under 25 years, 65% is 26‐49 years and 28% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; safety/accident management; foreign languages; maths/working with numbers; and disability awareness.

Yorkshire and the Humber – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 13% of the workforce in the region is female. 18% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 62% is 26‐49 years and 30% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; job related IT; and Welsh language.

Northern Ireland – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 21% of the workforce in the region is female. Data are unavailable on the ethnicity of the workforce. 9% of the workforce is under 25 years, 74% is 26‐49 years and 17% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; safety/accident management; job related IT; and disability awareness.

Scotland – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 16% of the workforce in the region is female. 2% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 56% is 26‐49 years and 36% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; and disability awareness.

Wales – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 18% of the workforce in the region is female. 4% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 54% is 26‐49 years and 38% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: Welsh language; foreign languages; disability awareness; safety/accident management; job related IT; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.