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Community transport is proving essential to the safety, mental health, and independence of people with disability—yet its full value remains underappreciated.

It’s easy to dismiss community transport as just another service—something people use to get to appointments, shops, or social events. But for people with disability, it can mean so much more.

The Australian Community Transport Association (ACTA) wants to change the conversation. As the national peak body representing community transport providers, ACTA advocates for a sector that quietly performs an extraordinary social service.

“Community transport providers are not just drivers,” says ACTA CEO Murray Coates. “They’re trusted supporters, early detectors of health risks, and lifelines for isolated people.”

Unlike commercial services, community transport is built on a culture of care. Staff offer door-to-door assistance, check in on clients, and notify family or emergency services if something seems wrong. That kind of attentiveness—often taken for granted—can prevent hospital admissions and protect vulnerable people.

The ABC’s Dr Norman Swan agrees. “The community transport team are walking, talking early detectors of medical problems,” he says. “Their intervention could make all the difference.”

The Royal Commission into Disability shone a harsh light on the dangers people with disability face using standard public transport. Community transport offers a safer, more respectful alternative.

And perhaps most critically—it restores something many lose: a sense of control. Psychologists call it “locus of control”—the idea that people feel healthier and more empowered when they can make their own decisions.

For many Australians with disability, ACTA and its members are helping to make that possible.