It's Everyone's Journey
Aiming to make public transport more accessible for disabled people
Arriva is proud to support ‘It’s Everyone’s Journey’, a campaign developed by the Department for Transport in partnership with disability groups, which aims to make public transport more accessible for disabled people.
Disabled people travel up to a third less than non-disabled people impacting on their access to employment, healthcare, education and social activities. We at Arriva want to encourage behaviour and mindset changes from public transport users, which will support disabled people using our services.
Seeing Differently
The RNIB Bus Charter comprises 13 pledges, including ensuring that drivers assist blind and partially sighted customers by stopping for them, and explaining what service they are, and what the destination is.
As part of this initiative, bus drivers in Darlington recently undertook additional training to understand the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted passengers using public transportation.
The event was organised as one of many awareness events taking place across Arriva UK Bus nationally to explore ways of making transport more accessible.
Staff from Arriva were given special glasses that simulate various eye conditions and were asked to complete tasks, such as trying to board a bus and pay for a ticket. The blind and partially sighted people who attended were also able to sit in the bus driver's seat to understand what the driver can hear above the general chatter of a bus full of people.
RNIB Campaigns Officer, Lewis Winton, said: “Blind and partially sighted people rely on public transport to get to work, visit friends and family, and be part of the community. Buses in particular are a vital lifeline that bring independence to many people with sight loss.
“This event was a fantastic opportunity for bus drivers and Arriva staff to gain insight into what travel with a vision impairment might be like, while also helping blind and partially sighted people understand what challenges bus drivers face. We hope this will help to make the service even more inclusive and accessible for all.”
Journey Assistance Cards
Arriva is pleased to offer Journey Assistance cards with a range of messages that tell our drivers what help you’d like during your bus journey.
The cards are discreet, easy for you to use and easy for others to understand especially if your disability is hidden. Just show the card to the driver as well as your travel ticket when boarding the bus.
We also have a set of cards that you can use to show our drivers that you are exempt from wearing a face covering. Please note: it is not mandatory to have one of these exemption cards on you when travelling with us, but you can do so if you wish.
Download our Journey Assistance cards here.
Download our face covering exemption cards here.
Find out more about 'It's Everyone's Journey' by heading to their website or following them on Twitter.