DUBLIN BUS is to introduce 22 new wheelchair-accessible routes as part of its plan to have all of its buses wheelchair-friendly by 2012.
The company has also introduced a disability awareness course which all staff have to take. This aims to ensure that staff are up to date with developments in disability awareness training.
Dublin Bus has invested more than €200 million in wheelchair-friendly, low-floor buses since January 2000.
The new wheelchair-accessible routes include some of the newest routes operated by Dublin Bus such as the 56A between Grand Canal Dock and The Square in Tallaght and the 102 between Sutton station and Dublin airport. The company is increasing the percentage of low-floor accessible buses from 70 to 78 per cent.
Tony Maher, the Irish Wheelchair Association's transport manager, said that the efforts of Dublin Bus were being undermined by the failure of local authorities to ensure that all bus stops were wheelchair-compatible. The association estimates that only a fifth of all 5,000 bus stops have the required kerbing for wheelchair access.
