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First launches nationwide Passenger Safety Month initiative
Wednesday 3 November 2010
BUS users all around the UK are to be given advice about how to stay safe while travelling on the bus as part of a month-long initiative being organised by First, the UK’s leading transport operator.
Launching this week, Passenger Safety Month has been specifically designed to highlight, to both passengers and staff, all the things people can do to ensure they stay as safe as possible when using the bus. Timed to start as the British Summertime ends - as the evenings draw in and the weather turns colder - the advice being offered ranges from how customers can alert bus drivers to any special requirements they may have - for instance needing extra time to find a seat – to providing information about how to avoid slips, trips and falls while on or near vehicles. Through the campaign, bus drivers are also being reminded about the advanced safe driving techniques (Smith System Principles) that they are taught when they join the company, and the benefits that the company’s DriveGreen system can offer in helping to ensure both a smoother ride for customers, and a general improvement in overall driving standards.
Supporting the month-long initiative each First operating company is planning localised events and activities designed to raise awareness of Passenger Safety Month, giving staff the opportunity to interact directly with customers, providing information and advice about how to stay safe on the bus. The activities range from school workshops designed to show youngsters how to behave at bus stops and while travelling on vehicles to information displays at bingo halls and residential homes to advise older people how to stay safe while using public transport.
Complementing the initiative First has produced more than 15,000 safe journey travel wallets and cards for older customers, and 2,000 reflective stickers for children which will be given away during November. The safe journey cards offer older customers information about how to stay safe on the bus, and enable them to alert drivers, in a discreet way, to any special requirements they may have. The reflective stickers, being trialled in the South West, will be given to primary age children for them to wear, to help ensure they are seen by road users during the darker evenings.
Talking about Passenger Safety Month, Mary Grant, Director Bus and Rail, says: “The safety and security of our passengers and staff is central to everything we do. During November this message will be further highlighted as we intend to run a series of internal and external events across the country, raising awareness of all the things people can do to ensure their stay safe while travelling on our buses.
“We hope Passenger Safety Month will be well received by our customers and stakeholders. If it is it may well become a permanent fixture in our calendar – helping to raise awareness of all the simple things we can each do to make journeys better for everyone.”
For more information about Passenger Safety Month or to view and download a Safe Journey Card, log onto www.firstgroup.com/safejourney.