Translink’s Safety Bus is an invaluable, free resource, promoting the safe use of buses - and promoting public transport to future users. It is a grassroots project started and curated by frontline staff, achieving results in the promotion of bus use and reduction in anti-social behaviour on/around buses.
The safety bus is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022 and approximately 450,000 pupils have used the resource since it was first launched.
Inspired by the first ‘Bee Safe’ event in 2002, along with attacks on buses by children of school age, the Safety Bus was conceived by bus driver Susan O’Neill. A number of attacks on buses that year added impetus to introduce this education resource, allocating a vehicle and driver to educate young people on risks of anti-social activities such as vandalism and trespassing.
It is available at school open nights, at ‘Bee Safe’ events, as an introduction to safe bus use, and as part of induction activity at secondary school. It primarily runs specialised classes at schools and communities, educating children on road safety issues around public transport with a dedicated vehicle, specially adapted and liveried with safety messages.
Here’s some of the great content that’s helped bring the project to life:
