Get On Board New Group

Posted on 25th Sep

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Using the bus service as a disabled person can be a challenge, and sometimes a nightmare with horror stories flying around about poor customer care and just plain physical barriers that make it hard to board a bus, be given enough time to pay the fare and find somewhere comfortable to sit.

Plymouth Disabled Bus Users Group, or Plymouth D-BUG aims to make the difficulties of bus travel a thing of the past. Its founder member, David Cumbers, DIAC has brokered a series of meetings with the city’s bus operators Citybus and First Bus to secure support and funding to get the group started.

Chris Wetherill, who works with David, said, “It is the positive way that Citybus and First Bus have engaged with and supported Plymouth D-BUG that will enable us to meet on a regular basis, help identify some of the problems disabled bus users face and to try and resolve them with both these operators.”

Having already briefed the bus operators on disability issues, D-BUG sees its role as helping the bus companies to offer a more sensitive service to disabled passengers, through training initiatives, dialogue and ideas to make bus travel an easy and comfortable experience.

Plymouth D-BUG is also interested to listen to the bus operators and learn more about those all important operational issues like not having long enough or large enough bus bays in Plymouth’s crowded and busy streets. This means if the bay is blocked by parked cars for example, the bus driver just can’t pull in close enough to the kerb to make getting on and getting off the bus as easy as it should be.

And just to confuse matters, the bus operators provide the buses and run the services and the city council provides the bus bays, bus stops, shelters and raised pavement areas.

You wouldn’t think having a bus service could be so complicated and for those of you who have to plan your journeys carefully, hope the bus driver can pull in close enough to the bus stop and pray that the wheelchair space on the bus isn’t blocked by buggies and pushchairs, life can be both complicated and stressful.

Plymouth D-BUG aims to try and reduce the difficulties of traveling by bus for those of us who experience problems. It also aims to cultivate a positive relationship with the city’s bus operators so that everyone wins.

Interested? Then why not join Plymouth
D-BUG? Contact Chris Wetherill for more details.