People with disabilities in Cork to benefit from travel assistance scheme on buses this year

The current scheme offers support to people with disabilities to become more comfortable and familiar with using public transport and is free to anyone over 18

A Bus Éireann spokesperson said it hopes to have the Cork pilot scheme up and running by mid-2022. Photo: Larry Cummins

A scheme helping people with disabilities to use public transport in Dublin for over a decade is now set to be rolled out in Cork.

Bus Éireann has confirmed that the Travel Assistance Scheme will be piloted in Cork this year. The firm's chief customer officer, Allen Parker, said that “learning from the success that the scheme has had in Dublin”, the scheme would be tried out in Cork.

The current scheme offers support and assistance to people with disabilities to become more comfortable and familiar with using public transport and is free to anyone over 18.

A travel assistant accompanies a person with a disability or mobility issue the first few times they travel across Dublin Bus, Luas, and DART services, and offers help and advice on how to plan their journeys.

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First established in 2008, the scheme has helped over 1,200 Dubliners to find independence and confidence using public transport.

Speaking at a webinar hosted by the Irish Wheelchair Association and FreeNow about the accessibility of transport, Mr Parker said the pilot is just one way Bus Éireann is expanding its services to support people who want to use them.

“Hopefully [through the scheme] people will find that strides and improvements have been made, and it's maybe not as difficult [to use] as some perceive - although we do still have a lot of challenges,” he said. He also mentioned other measures Bus Éireann is taking to make public transport more accessible. 

Voice announcements have been rolled out to 50% of the national fleet, with the aim of having voice announcements across all buses by the end of the year, and €12.5m has been committed by the National Transport Authority (NTA) to making bus station and stop infrastructure more accessible.

“In understanding the challenges people have using our service, and how we address those, there isn't one single silver bullet. It's lots of small issues that we're picking up on by just listening to feedback, and how we can really address those issues and improve the situation,” he said.

Ray Coyne, CEO of Dublin Bus, said the Travel Assistance Scheme is the thing of which he is most proud.

“We will go to the customer, teach them how to use the service, whether it's the bus, the Luas, the train, and get them comfortable using public transport… I think the proudest thing I have in Dublin Bus in terms of what we do now is the Travel Assistance Scheme,” he said.

Bus Éireann are currently recruiting two people to work on the programme in Cork. The Cork pilot scheme is supported by the NTA, and a Bus Éireann spokesperson said it hopes to have it up and running by mid-2022.

“This is based on a model set up by Dublin Bus which has been very well received. The expansion to Cork is the first outside of Dublin and Bus Éireann is delighted to be introducing this scheme,” they said.