To mark the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Dublin Bus, in conjunction with the National Transport Authority (NTA), are supporting the Purple Lights campaign. The company’s Head Office on O’Connell Street, along with an in-service bus, have been turned purple to raise awareness and promote disability inclusion across every aspect of life, particularly on public transport.
The UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities aims to promote the rights of people with disabilities at all societal and developmental levels. To raise awareness of disability challenges and to celebrate the day, Government buildings, companies, and civic and educational institutions are encouraged to turn purple as part of the purple lights campaign.
As Ireland’s largest transport provider, Dublin Bus has a long-standing commitment to ensuring their service is accessible to everyone. The company’s Travel Assistance Scheme, established in 2008, has helped people with disabilities on over 11,500 occasions to gain the confidence and skills necessary to use Dublin Bus and other public transport services in their daily lives.
Dublin Bus also supports the NTA’s “Please Offer Me a Seat” badge and card campaign in partnership with Invisible Disability Ireland to help improve the experience on public transport for those with invisible disabilities. Customers with a communication barrier can also use a JAM Card to tell drivers discreetly that they need ‘Just A Minute’ to make their journey as stress-free as possible. To further help meet every customer’s accessibility needs, the new Dublin Bus fleet is equipped with a space for both a wheelchair user and a buggy.
Dolores Henchin, Accessibility Executive at Dublin Bus said “We are proud to be supporting the purple lights campaign again this year. As longtime advocates for fully accessible public transport, Dublin Bus remains steadfast in our commitment to enabling everyone to travel around the capital freely. We hope our purple lights and bus will help to raise much-needed awareness for the challenges facing people with disabilities”.
Naomi Rooney, Transport Accessibility Manager at the NTA added “The NTA fully supports the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities. We continue to raise awareness of disability challenges through our numerous campaigns to ensure our public transport system is accessible to everyone in their daily lives”.
