Transport Minister visits us to see the UK’s most accessible buses for International Day of Disabled People

Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood met local disabled people and charities to find out how we listen and learn from the lived experience of disabled people when co-designing our polices, initiatives and new vehicles to help ensure a more inclusive journey for all. As a leading operator for customer journeys per head of population outside of London accessible travel is vital for connecting our community. 

During the visit, the minister learned about our specially designed buses centered around being as accessible as possible. This includes displaying information for those with hearing and sight impairments and increasing wheelchair user capacity by having two wheelchair bays. 

The minister met with a number of disabled passengers who rely on our services, hearing about how they feel more confident to travel using our buses. He was also able to learn about how we have partnered with the Sight Loss Councils when developing training to ensure blind and partially sighted passengers would be supported. This training, which is endorsed by the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the DVSA, is now seen as the industry gold standard and is on offer to all bus operators across the country. 

The minster encouraged transport operators nationwide to follow the lead of Brighton & Hove Buses and improve accessibility on their bus services, as he marks the International Day of Disabled People.