Bus Éireann - catering for people with disabilities
Bus Éireann is committed to the provision of a fully accessible public transport system and infrastructure. We are represented on the Public Transport Accessibility Committee(PTAC), which was established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness in July 2000. The terms of reference of the Committee are:
- To advise the Minister on the accessibility aspects of proposed public transport investments.
- To advise the Minister on accessibility issues relating to existing public transport infrastructure, facilities and services and where appropriate make recommendations for prioritised, cost effective measures to address these issues.
Accessible vehicles
It is Bus Éireann’s policy to procure more accessible vehicles as part of the continuing programme of fleet replacement and upgrading. Improvements such as high-visibility nosing on steps, hand rails, moquette seat covering, high-quality internal lighting and heating, public address systems etc are all designed to make our buses and coaches more accessible and more user friendly. We endeavour to obtain the most accessible vehicles available within the limits of available capital. All vehicles comply with the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations 1963.
The following coach routes are now fully accessible for wheelchair users:
- Waterford to Cork with an accessible bus stop available in Castlemartyr.
- Galway to Ballina.
- Galway to Athlone.
Please notify your local Bus Station by telephone, 24 hours in advance of journey and a reservation will be made for you.
| Bus Station, Athlone. | (090) 6484406 |
| Bus Station, Ballina, Co. Mayo. | (096) 71800 |
| Bus Station, Parnell Place, Cork. | (021) 4508188 |
| Bus Station, Galway. | (091) 562000 |
| Bus Station, Waterford. | (051) 879000 |
City & local services
In 1997, Bus Éireann decided, after trials, that all future purchases of large capacity city single deck buses would be of a type fully accessible to wheelchairs, incorporating an entrance ramp and a designated wheelchair space.
As part of the ongoing programme of replacement of older city service buses, 143 city single deck buses have been placed in service since 1998. All of these vehicles are of low-floor design and are fully accessible to wheelchairs. As a result of this programme, the entire Bus Éireann city services fleet in Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway are now fully accessible in this year 2008.
On vehicles accessible to mobility impaired persons who are wheelchair users, a wheelchair must be parked in the designated area and in such a manner as the driver may direct. A wheelchair user has priority for use of this designated area at all times. One occupied childrens’ buggy or pushchair may be parked in this designated area when it is not occupied by a wheelchair.
At the end of 2000, Bus Éireann also took delivery of 20 low floor wheelchair-accessible rural buses to ascertain how such vehicles would perform over the difficult operating conditions on local rural bus services. 20 fully accessible double deck vehicles have also entered service in 2002 for use on short distance commuter services in the Greater Dublin area, mainly on the Ashbourne/Dublin and Drogheda/Dublin routes.
The urban street infrastructure and traffic management measures are major factors outside the control of Bus Éireann, which impact on the effective operation of such fully accessible vehicles. Bus drivers are trained to position buses correctly at stops, provided access to the bus stop is not obstructed by parked vehicles. In addition, kerb heights at bus stops need to be standardised for fully accessible buses to operate effectively.
Coaches
As in the case of city buses, the needs of mobility-impaired people are also considered when specifying coach type vehicles for Expressway and longer distance commuter routes. However, customer demand in this very competitive sector of the bus travel market is for luxury specification coaches with a high floor and underfloor luggage space of maximum capacity.
In an effort to ease the situation, all new coaches purchased by Bus Éireann since 1990 have been specified with a "kneeling" facility which allows the front of the coach to be lowered to provide easier access. In addition, all entrance/exit steps comply with the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment & Use of Vehicles) Regulations 1963.
Bus Éireann have commenced the purchase of Inter-City Coaches with wheelchair lifts as part of its replacement programme. The Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005 envisages that the entire scheduled service coach fleet in Ireland will have been replaced by wheelchair accessible coaches by 2015
Bus Stations
All new station facilities are specified to be accessible and, under the National Development Plan, we are investing in improving access to our existing facilities.
Dundalk, Drogheda, Killarney, Waterford, Athlone, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan, Ballina, Letterkenny, Parnell Place Cork, Ennis, Tralee and Busáras bus stations are fully accessible. These bus stations also have accessible toilets available together with Rosslare Harbour, Limerick, Kilkenny and Galway.
Public Address Systems
All new coaches and large capacity city single deck buses are fitted with public address systems. New city buses also have an internal “bus stopping” sign, which indicates to passengers that the bus is stopping and allows them to remain seated until the bus comes to a stop.
Destination Indicator Signs
The destination indicators fitted to Bus Éireann vehicles are generally compliant with the British DPTAC recommendations. The legal requirement to show destination names in a bilingual format imposes certain constraints on the height of lettering than can be used. In addition, the overall dimensions of the display unit can be constrained by the windscreen configuration of coach type vehicles. Bus Éireann is fitting all new buses and coaches with an electronic destination unit of a type in widespread use in Britain.
Travel Centres
| Bus Station, Athlone. | (090) 6484406 |
| Bus Station, Ballina, Co. Mayo. | (096) 71800 |
| Bus Station, Cavan. | (049) 4331353 or (049) 4332533 |
| Bus Station, Parnell Place, Cork. | (021) 4508188 |
| Bus Station, Drogheda, Co. Louth | (041) 9835023 |
| Busáras (Central Bus Station), Store Street, Dublin 1. | (01) 8366111 |
| Bus Station, Dundalk, Co. Louth | (042) 9334075 |
| Bus Station, Ennis, Co. Clare. | (065) 6824177 |
| Bus Station, Galway. | (091) 562000 |
| Bus Station, Killarney, Co. Kerry. | (064) 30011 |
| Bus Station, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal | (074) 9121309 |
| Bus Station, Limerick. | (061) 313333 |
| Bus Station, Monaghan. | (047) 82377 |
| Bus Station, Sligo. | (071) 9160066 |
| Bus Station, Stranorlar, Co. Donegal. | (074) 9131008 |
| Bus Station, Tralee, Co. Kerry. | (066) 7164700 |
| Bus Station, Waterford. | (051) 879000 |
| Bus Éireann Desk-Passenger Tour Enquiries, Arrivals Hall, Shannon Airport. | (061) 474311 |
