We know that since the Covid pandemic, there are many passengers who are anxious about using public and community transport.

Devon County Council, partnered with Devon in Sight (The Devon County Association for the Blind), Living Options Devon and North Devon Voluntary Services to help our smaller & medium sized commercial bus operators and Community bus schemes to design and deliver a first-rate Disability Awareness Training Programme.

The Driver Disability Awareness Training recognised how critical the role of the bus driver is to a passenger’s journey experience. Helping drivers to overcome their own concerns about offering help to passengers with protected characteristics such as disability.

The training programme aimed to raise awareness of antidiscrimination law and the issues facing people living with a range of disabilities and the barriers to accessing transport.

This manual was prepared in a partnership between Devon County Council and local charities that support people with disabilities across the county of Devon.

We hope our Driver Disability Awareness Training Manual will help remove barriers for people with disabilities who wish to use public transport and ultimately help reduce loneliness and social isolation.