Transport to Employment (T2E)
The Transport to Employment Service (T2E) has been providing Transport Access to Workplace, Childcare and Training in East Sutherland, Easter Ross, and Southern Caithness since April 2006. In this time there have been over 100 users of the service in total, more than half of whom have been able to take up new jobs as a direct result of the T2E service. Funding for the services has been provided by the European Social Fund, Scottish Executive, Working For Families, and Highland Council and there is partner involvement from, amongst others, Jobcentre Plus, Sutherland Enterprise and Highland Opportunity.
Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis conducted by CTR staff revealed that the combined benefit to individual user and the state was about £9000 per year (while the user is still in employment) and the measurable social benefits outweigh the projects investment by more than 3 to 1 for usage patterns observed.
AWARDS and COMMENDATIONS:
- T2E was shortlisted in the ‘Travel to School and Work’ category at the Scottish Transport Awards 2007
- T2E service has been featured as an example of best practice by the EU Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (European Commission, 2007)
- The Sutherland Partnership Transport Group’s ‘Transport Vision for Sutherland’ commends the T2E project highlighting that: “the T2E project has shown that demand responsive transport can be very successful not only in providing for travel to work but in enabling people to take up jobs.
Wright, S, Nelson, J D, Cooper, J M and Murphy, S (2009) An evaluation of the Transport to Employment (T2E) scheme in Highland Scotland using Social Return on Investment (SROI). Journal of Transport Geography 17, 457-467
Wright, S, Nelson, J D, and Cooper, J M (2008) Development and Evaluation of the Transport to Employment (T2E) Service: Overcoming Transport Barriers to Job Opportunities Leading to More Sustainable Rural Communities in Highland Scotland. Local Economy 23(3), August 2008, 180-194