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WHETHER YOU ARE a regular user of Dublin Bus, or planning to use it at some point in the future, we have good news for you: the fleet is now accessible to all.
The company described 2013 as “a momentous year for Dublin Bus” and has delivered on its commitment to having a fully low-floor wheelchair accessible fleet by the close of 2012.
This is good news not only for wheelchair users but for customers with mobility impairments, older customers and customers with buggies.
All buses are now equipped with low floor chassis, kneeling suspension to further reduce entry step height, retractable ramp at entrance and a priority space for wheelchair users as standard.
The new buses have been deployed across the Dublin Bus network and operate on Routes 1, 4, 7, 29a, 33, 102, 104 and 151.
This achievement was made possible by the recent acquisition of 80 new highly advanced double decker buses as part of Dublin Bus’ fleet replacement programme and funded by the National Transport Authority.
The 80 new buses have a range of improved accessibility features, including:
Accessibility group
These developments are in part a result of Dublin Bus’ accessibility working group. The National Disability Authority’s Director, Siobhán Barron, said they welcome the achievement, seeing it as “a significant step in supporting people with disabilities as active citizens in the community’’.
Since 2007, Dublin Bus has also provided a Travel Assistance Scheme, where a Dublin Bus Travel Assistant accompanies the service user the first few times they travel and also provides advice on planning a journey using Dublin Bus, the DART or the Luas.
Bus user Frank Daly said of the scheme, which runs from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, is free of charge and available to people aged 18 or over:
It has given me greater independence and has been a very positive experience for me.
Dublin Bus’ Accessibility Officer, Dolores Henchin said of today’s news:
Reaching this target ensures that anyone across the Greater Dublin Area can travel on our services as far as Newcastle in County Wicklow, Balbriggan in North County Dublin and Maynooth in County Kildare.
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Now for the next mission:
Stop junkies from smoking heroin on the buses!!
Oh the smell, it’s vile..
It’s up to us. Shame them out of it.
Why not give them somewhere they can smoke/inject it safely without hassle from the law like they do in lots of other countries?
That’s good to hear. Now it’d also be good to hear of more routes, cheaper fares & improved security. Dublin Bus should be in communication with Gardai immediately once anti-social behaviour happens on buses & have the trouble-makers thrown off.
Open the Market up to competition. The state monopoly on public transport only serves the unions at the expense of passengers.
‘Upper saloon’. What are they like! It’s a top fu***ng deck!
Smoking area.
Top Deco or bottom deco
Can we all do our best to get the f’ing smokers off the bus? If more of us give out to them then people’ll listen. It’s the “not my problem” cowed masses that allows it to go on. All it takes is one person to turn around & say “Are you f*cking serious? Can you not wait? Put that f*cking thing out!”
Who photoshopped the photo of a Dublin bus driver smiling?
Never been on top ever, stairwell to narrow
No shite…
Are you actually real BigChanntelle, I’m sure I saw you on the bus last weekend.
@paul I’m just a real big girl,who sits downstairs like you x
@paul I’m just a real big girl, who sits downstairs like you x
Fair play, I’ve nothing against upstairs just prefer to stand downstairs if no seats, but you’re really real……not a p*ss take fake ID….love it!
That’s great news. No person should be left unable to avail of publicly funded transport due to a disability.
However, at the risk of getting more red thumbs than you’d find at a USSR reunion, does anyone know how the required number of disabled persons parking spaces is calculated? It seems to me that there is only about a 5% take up of the spaces at best here in Cork and it’s kind of soul destroying passing by up to 4 unused spaces in a row on your 5th time around the loop – any day or night.
A step forward. Well done to Dublin Bus.
Pity about all the Irish announcements
And Irish signs. How much is wasted on Irish by Dublin bus? Forward is the direction we should be heading not back to 1916.
Poor trolling attempt.
The lingua franca of Dublin is English, as well as it being an official language. Does anyone really believe there is a single Dublin resident who can speak Irish but not English? So point is valid that in these cash strapped times, duplicating everything into Irish is of no practical value at all. And no, having Irish signage is not going contribute towards restoring the language, regardless of however wishfully you think.
You’d be surprised how welcomed the bilingual signs are by the diaspora & recent emigrants on their return here.
It’s a reminder to them that they’re home.
While we’re on money-making tips, how about selling off them greenfield sites in the city centre? There’s one just north of the Rotunda, and a *huge* one just at the end of Grafton st. Just think what we could do with that land if we could build on it? Yer man who put a tile centre on Dartmouth Square had the tight idea. Yeah there’s stone statues & pretty plants on them, but they won’t be missed by anyone……
It’s a legal requirement
Ask a disabled person. Last report on Dublin Bus’ wheelchair accessible buses was that a large percentage didnt work.
Yeah, they’ll HAVE audio announcements, but just like the buses in Limerick, the drivers won’t bother after a few months :P
Actually the new fancy spangly buses with the signs telling you what the next stop is have a little voice that plays automatically – like on the Luas, probably just as well – it’s hard to make out some of the drivers voices over the speakers!
They all have wifi too (as do all buses with a reg above 12).
@Shanti they don’t all have free WiFi unfortunately, the 13 and the 40 come to mind.
I find that voice so incredibly annoying. Also, INVARIABLY, the people who don’t know where they’re going don’t know the name of the stop (does anyone?) and they end up asking you anyway, forcing you to remove your headphones, at which point they regale you with their life story. So it’s basically useless IMO. I can live with the LED sign but the voice is a total pain.
Sorry George – I should clarify, I meant all the spangly new buses with the voice overs have wifi, and all buses with a reg 12 D or newer, sadly this doesn’t apply to the majority of the fleet and it appears to be the luck of the draw whether you will get one or not!
It’s great that they’re accessible, but can we now start to address how polluting they are!? Cancer rates on certain streets in Dublin must be higher than the average due to the toxic fumes of the bus fleet. As a cyclist, it’s the worst thing about living in Dublin. Surprised more people don’t wear masks. Apologies for going away from the point of the article!
Cyclists!!!! Ye don’t pay road tax so sshhhhhh.
Cyclists don’t have a say u get free lanes and don’t even use them! Use a bus or drive if u have such a problem with it!!
It’s “motor” tax not “road” tax. As bicycles don’t have a motor, they quite rightly don’t pay motor tax. As there is no such thing as road tax, neither they nor you pay that.
Often thought the same Brian
@paul see you on the bus x
Now to work on (the majority of) their drivers attitudes and manners!
Now… Arriving on time!
Some of the drivers still wouldn’t even lower the ramps. I’ve had to be pushed on several times. Great idea if it was used properly though
They can be so advanced and yet still be stuck back in the stone age……
have your say