Safe Journey Card launched

First has launched the new look ‘Safe Journey Card’, designed to help older people use buses more easily. The Safe Journey card was originally unveiled in 2009, giving the elderly a way of asking for extra assistance on the bus. It was developed in association with, and in response to, a charity’s awareness day, which was focused at the time on ‘falls on transport’. It has also recently seen the introduction of CPT’s Better Journey Card, designed to give those with disabilities a way of easily making the bus driver aware of any special assistance they may need.

Customer Service and Communications Director for First UK Bus, Barbara Bedford, said, ‘These cards offer our customers a way of discreetly communicating with our drivers. Whether or not someone chooses to use them is up to them, but through our work with disability groups and older people’s forums, we have found that people like them. Quite often people want to ask for assistance, but they’re unsure how best to do it. While customers can, of course, just ask for any help they need, not everyone finds this easy, or is able to speak clearly. In these instances, these cards give people a way of asking for assistance in a simple, easy and discreet way. We worked with a number of organisations to develop them – getting the language, colours and images right – so we hope that people find them useful. They are intended to make it easier for people to use the bus.