Transport Accessibility Improvements March 2021
The last month has seen a number of announcement to improve the accessibility of transport vehicles and stations in Ireland. Two major recent announcements include the re-running of the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Grant Scheme (WAV21) by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Improvement works to a number of lift facilities at Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) stations.
At the very beginning of March the NTA announced that they were to start running the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Grant Scheme again in 2021 (WAV21) to support the greater provision of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) on Irish roads. The scheme, launched the same day, offers financial aid up to €7,500 in order to purchase or convert a new WAV. The support will vary depending on the age of the car and any vehicle older than 6 years will not be eligible for the scheme, which can also include training assistance to those who avail of it. This scheme is available to existing SPSV Driver Licence Holders or existing SPSV Licence Holders.
You can find further details and guides on the scheme, here.
Back in 2020 Irish Rail began investing in a number of upgrades to its lift facilities across 12 stations and this month it announced that The Big Lift upgrade programme will continue through 2021 with improvements planned for 22 further stations across the network. As part of a €5.8 million investment Irish rail will replace and upgrade lifts over the next year to improve the facilities people with mobility impairments as well as parents with buggies, elderly citizens and others. Some disruptions may be experienced while the works to stations are being completed so alternative arrangements will be made for customers.
A full list of the stations and estimated timescales for the works can be found here. The Big Lift Means Big Improvements (irishrail.ie)
If you need further information on how to make facilities or services more accessible and inclusive, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team on (01) 415 12 85 or e-mail [email protected].
