Dublin Bus and Travel Assistant Roger Flood have, to date, helped over 1,200 people with disabilities to negotiate the public transport networks of the capital, giving them freedom to travel. Originally established in 2008, the Travel Assistance Scheme helps people with disabilities to gain the confidence and skills necessary to use Dublin Bus and/or the Luas and DART in their daily lives. Recent years has seen increased demand for the service and two additional Travel Assistants have been added to the team. Dublin Bus now wants to highlight this life-changing and free service with a new video that celebrates Roger’s work and demonstrates the value of the service for people with disabilities and their families in giving them confidence to travel in their city. The video can be viewed here.
According to Roger, “Most of us take using public transport for granted in our daily lives, whether it’s to travel to work, visit friends, go shopping etc., but for thousands it is not that simple and not having the confidence to use public transport can dramatically restrict a person’s independence. However, we are here to help. We will take your journey with you for as many times as is necessary until you feel confident in taking the journey on your own.”
Roger accepted a 2019 Lord Mayor’s Award on behalf of Dublin Bus in October this year. The awards honour individuals and groups who have made a special contribution to Dublin and its citizens. Dublin Bus received the award for its commitment to providing an accessible service for all, as demonstrated by the work of the Travel Assistance Scheme.
Service user Christina McCarthy, from Rathfarnham, has been visually impaired since birth. Her mum was terrified of Christina using public transport on her own until Roger came along and put her mind at ease. As a Travel Assistant, there’s so much more to the job than just teaching people about transportation. “Using the Travel Assistance Scheme has been a fantastic experience. Roger is the perfect person for the job; he’s so calm and kind. The most important thing is that he’s never patronising. He’s helping you do it, not doing it for you. It’s given me the confidence to do things that other people take for granted.”
Dublin Bus is a pioneer in inclusivity and diversity policies and services for its employees and its customers. Roger believes that other businesses should consider the huge impact a similar service would have on their customers. “For a small investment it has considerable impact”, he said.
While over 1,200 people have availed of the Travel Assistance Scheme, the hope is that there are many more who will benefit from the programme in the future. The video seeks to celebrate the work of the Dublin Bus Travel Assistance Scheme, as well as inform and encourage others to use the scheme. Produced by Rothco, it features Roger preparing to take a service user for training and when boarding the bus he is welcomed by a bus full of people he has previously worked with celebrating his work.
The Travel Assistance Scheme is free and is for people aged 18 or over. The scheme is funded by the National Transport Authority and is available Monday to Friday between 08:00hrs and 18:00hrs. To find out more call 01 703 3204 or email customercomment@dublinbus.ie.