Manchester Community Transport (MCT), which is part of HCT Group, has announced that it is “proposing” to cease operations from late April. Mounting losses and difficult trading conditions have been cited as reasons.
The owning group says it can no longer sustain losses at MCT. As a result, it has “no alternative” to the withdrawal of its support. It adds that MCT has been reliant on the parent for financial, management and technical support since it joined HCT Group in 2017.
At that time, HCT Group Chief Executive Dai Powell aired his belief that the deal could “help MCT to achieve its potential, growing the organisation and increasing services.”
MCT has an O-Licence authorisation of 50 vehicles from a base in Chadderton. It runs registered services in Greater Manchester. A small number additionally operate into Cheshire and Derbyshire. It also undertakes traditional community transport work.
Manchester Community Transport Interim Managing Director Phil Stockley says that HCT Group has “done all [it] can,” to support the operation. He adds that the situation at MCT is not likely to be recoverable.
“We understood the level of difficulty facing MCT when we took on this challenge. But we felt strongly that it was worth every possible effort to preserve a community transport organisation with such a longstanding tradition of service in the area,” adds Mr Stockley.
“Colleagues from across the Group – and the whole team at MCT – have worked tirelessly to put the operation on a sustainable footing.”
