Bus Travel
What training do bus drivers get?
- All drivers receive disability and equality awareness and inclusion training at the start of their employment and as part of their ongoing certificate of professional competence (CPC) qualification
- The CPC is a mandatory qualification that all drivers must now hold, and for them to retain this, they must complete a minimum amount of training each year.
Some issues that have been raised:
- Ramps not being put down
- The drivers are trained to always put the ramps down when required and should automatically assume that it is needed for someone in a wheelchair or scooter
- Any vehicle that has low floor access must have a working ramp to be fit to be used in service.
- Passengers with mobility issues can ask the driver for the ramp to be put down
- Drivers not waiting for people to sit down
- Drivers are trained to wait for passengers to sit down, especially those with any mobility issues
- Drivers not alerting visually impaired people when they get to their stop
- Stagecoach have worked hard to educate staff over the last few years on showing more care to customers who may have a visual impairment and this includes stopping to advise what service they are operating when they see a passenger at a bus stop.
- Drivers should when asked, do their best to advise customers when they have arrived at their destination stop.
Space provided on the bus
- Space is often tight for wheelchair users
- The vehicles are made to a standard specification by the manufacturer, Stagecoach buy them in bulk and then distribute to whichever depots they are suited to
- The handrails and grab rails on every vehicle are placed by the manufacturer and sometimes these can restrict movement for passengers, but they are situated specifically for passenger safety, to suit the agreed specifications that the manufacturer has worked to.
- Drivers should always try and make room for wheelchair users but if there are other passengers on the bus that refuse to move then there is nothing the driver can do
Bus Stops
- There are 1700 bus stops in Perth and Kinross all of which should be accessible
Information at Bus Stops
- There is no real-time information at bus stops in Perth and Kinross, it has been considered but would be too costly
Coaches
- Coaches require preparations to be made to enable wheelchair users to travel and so for Megabus and Citylink journeys people must book ahead
- x55 – All additional seats have been take out in the X55, people shouldn’t have to book this service as they are generally prepared for a wheelchair user to board
Feedback
If you encounter any issues on public transport in Perth and Kinross then please report it to us, without this we cannot feedback to the companies.
Please complete the form below to provide feedback
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