Voluntary sector organisations had the chance to discuss and consider the TIF proposals at two recent meetings organised by the Transport Resource Unit.

The first meeting, held on 22nd July, brought together representatives from organisations from across Greater Manchester. The meeting opened with a presentation from Eve Martin, the TIF Consultation Programme Director, and moved swiftly into lengthy question and answer session. You can hear a review of the meeting on the On the Move website until the end of the month (link below).

A second meeting, held on 18th August, brought together community transport operators and volunteer car schemes from across the region to discuss the specific impact that the proposals may have on their organisations. Although some concerns remain about the detail of the charging mechanisms itself, the organisations present were broadly in support of the plans providing that the impact on their service users can be minimised. A full response to the consultation strategy will be submitted by the Greater Manchester Community Transport Operators' Forum in due course.

The Transport Resource Unit has been working with colleagues from other organisations to organise meetings in other parts of Greater Manchester over the coming weeks:

Tuesday 9th September, Dukinfield Town Hall, Tameside - please contact Hakeel Qureshi at Tameside Third Sector Coalition on 0161 339 4985 or hakeel.qureshi@t3sc.org for more information

Friday 12th September, Friends Meeting House, Stockport - please contact Nadia Ali at Stockport CVS on 0161 477 0246 or Nadia@stockportcvs.co.uk for more information

Wednesday 24th September, The Bolton Hub - please contact Shafiqa Ibrahim at Bolton CVS on 01204 546010 or Shafiqa@boltoncvs.org.uk for more information

Monday 29th September, Bury Town Hall- please contact Melanie Jeffs on 0161 277 1014 or melanie.jeffs@gmcvo.org.uk for more information

All meetings will feature a GMPTA speaker. The Transport Resource Unit is also conducting a voluntary sector survey on the proposals which can be accessed from the link below.