Reading Buses operates in a diverse community on every single factor possible: income, disability, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age and much more. 10 year’s ago, we already had a reputation for cultural diversity, however, there were gaps – female bus drivers, accessibility, inclusion and we wanted to track and measure our diversity.
We’ve taken a seemingly simple strategy which has changed perceptions and generated pride in our workforce. It’s galvanised our employees to live and breathe diversity and inclusion in everything we do, making them more engaged than industry benchmarks. For customers, we’ve enabled everyone to participate equally, confidently and independently every day, removing barriers so people can travel no matter their background or ability.
In simple terms, diversity is the mix, and inclusion is getting the mix to work together. We’ve achieved both with extra flair and sparkle. We’ve completed the project in an engaging and inspiring way for employees and customers, while proactively engaging with and energising the wider community to grow and promote bus use.
By putting people at the heart of the business we have 5% more customers and 7% more revenue, helping secure our future as the transport of choice in Reading and beyond.
