Last Saturday, 10 October, was World Mental Health Day. This week, Community Transport Week 12 -16 October gives us another opportunity to think about something closely connected to our wellbeing: the ability to get out, connect with others and take part in everyday life.

Across the UK, community transport helps people reach the places and people that matter to them. It can mean getting to a medical appointment, visiting the shops, joining a group, seeing friends or simply having a reason to get out of the house.

These may seem like ordinary journeys. But when getting out and about becomes difficult, the effects can reach far beyond transport. Losing opportunities to socialise, maintain independence and feel part of a community can contribute to loneliness and isolation.

Community transport can help keep those connections alive. It isn’t a mental health service, but the opportunities it creates for social contact, independence and participation can make a real difference to people’s wellbeing.

That is why Community Transport Week matters. It shines a light on work that often goes unseen, celebrates the staff and volunteers who make it possible, and raises awareness of a sector that communities across the UK rely on.

It is also a chance to recognise the need for the people, funding and support required to keep these services running into the future.

At Westway Community Transport, we’re proud to stand alongside community transport organisations across the country in highlighting the difference these journeys make.

Because driving communities forward is about more than getting from A to B. It’s about helping people stay connected to life around them.