Derbyshire Transport Charity’s Liquidation: Former CEO’s Regret

The former interim chief executive of a Derbyshire transport charity stated that its liquidation was “the last thing we wanted to do”. Derbyshire Community Transport (DCT), which provided bus and on-demand services throughout the county, stopped operations on 31 October. The organization cited “long term financial issues and a tough trading environment” as the reasons for ceasing trading. In his initial statement to the BBC since the closure, Steve Chu attributed the decision to several “long-term challenges,” such as fewer contracts, elevated vehicle running expenses, and the effects of the Covid pandemic. Mr. Chu indicated that the primary objective moving forward was to secure new providers for the services previously offered by DCT. Mr. Chu, who also holds a leadership position at Bakewell and Eyam Community Transport, had been appointed by DCT in March to counsel its board regarding the charity’s daily operations. He stated, “DCT had some financial issues going back a number of years, which became tougher and tougher.” He further explained that DCT experienced “poor cash” flow and found it difficult to invest in modern vehicles, leading to substantial repair costs. Mr. Chu also mentioned that Derbyshire County Council’s choice to shut down care homes and day centres within the county had complicated DCT’s ability to secure and fulfill additional contracts. Nevertheless, he affirmed, “I’ve got no complaints with how we were treated by Derbyshire County Council and we understand they are in their own difficult financial position.” A spokesperson for the council responded, stating: “The closure of Derbyshire Community Transport was not the result of any actions by the county council and was entirely a decision for them. However, we have now been able to offer replacement services for all those that DCT operated on our behalf so they continue to run as they were. We believe DCT also ran its own services, independently of the county council, although we are not aware if these are continuing to operate by different providers.” Despite the preservation of some services, Mr. Chu expressed regret for the small community groups impacted by the charity’s cessation. An example cited was Edna Stein, 90, who managed to save her group by arranging taxis to transport members to their gatherings. Mr. Chu commented, “I was really optimistic until the end and liquidating was the last thing we wanted to do. We had long-term liabilities that we would have to pay off for years into the future.” He continued, “I couldn’t see a way we could honour those commitments and I felt it was better to cease trading and find new providers to preserve as many services as we could.” Mr. Chu concluded by stating, “If public bodies do value the services transport communities can provide, a fresh look at what grants can be made available is really important to help sustain them for the future.”