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Supporting the Hate Crime Charter and Championing Accessibility – A Message from Stagecoach East Scotland

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At Stagecoach East Scotland, we are proud to reaffirm our commitment to supporting the Hate Crime Charter, an important initiative developed in partnership with Disability Equality Scotland.

We stand united with our fellow transport providers in sending a clear message of zero tolerance towards hate crime, particularly against individuals with protected characteristics.

As a public transport provider, we understand the critical role we play in ensuring that everyone feels safe, respected, and valued when travelling.

The Hate Crime Charter aligns strongly with our core values of inclusion, accessibility, and community responsibility.

By supporting the Charter, we aim not only to raise awareness but also to help foster a culture of kindness and respect across all journeys on our network.

Improving accessibility on Stagecoach buses

Stagecoach East Scotland has taken significant strides in recent months to improve accessibility and enhance the passenger experience.

Yellow low-floor easy access stagecoach bus

We are delighted to share that we have invested in 13 brand-new Low Floor, easy-access double-deck coaches as part of our express coach service between Glasgow and St Andrews.

These state-of-the-art vehicles have been designed to provide seamless and dignified travel experiences for wheelchair users and others with mobility challenges.

100% electric zero emission stagecoach bus

In addition, we have rolled out new electric and Euro 6-rated single and double-deck buses across our operating area. These new buses not only represent a step forward in sustainability but also prioritise accessibility and safety. The interiors of these vehicles are bright, welcoming, and inclusive, with thoughtful design features to support passengers of all needs.

To further support a secure and supportive travel environment, we’ve enhanced our CCTV systems, which now allow for real-time monitoring by our depot control teams.

This upgrade enables faster response times to emerging issues, helping ensure that every passenger feels protected and heard throughout their journey.

We are proud of the progress we’ve made and are excited to continue working alongside Disability Equality Scotland and our transport partners to create an inclusive and hate-free transport system.

Our partnership in the Hate Crime Charter is a vital part of this journey, and we remain dedicated to driving positive change across our communities.

Living Streets Publishes Report on Street Inclusivity

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The Living Streets charity has revealed its findings on bus stops and continuous footways to a wider audience in hopes of setting in motion a bigger discussion about inclusivity.

The scope of this project was to address the broad question about the inclusivity of street designs in Scotland. In the result, two versions of the study have been published: “Inclusive design at continuous footways” (October 2023) and “Inclusive design at bus stops with cycle tracks” (March 2024).

The charity has carried out a detailed study of site work across Scotland, England and Wales, breaking down the infrastructure into “complex environment” and “simple environment”. Categorising streets this way helped to thoroughly observe the overall footfall as well as pedestrian behaviour.

For every investigation, the approach was standardised and tailored to correspond with busier or quieter sites, allowing for more accurate results. Video footage was also used for prolonged periods of time up to 3 days to observe such details as whether pedestrians turned their heads before crossing, changed their speed, and which routes they took through the site.

Both versions conclude that good communication between disabled groups and designers is important for increasing the quality of street inclusivity.

In particular, one report acknowledges that some organisations representing disabled people may pursue the same goals but are divided in how to achieve them.

The second report agrees on this and calls for bringing all groups together to make adjustments based “on equalities grounds”. As of now, there is an evident lack of connection between existing designs and needs of disabled people.

To continue reading the full report for a detailed analysis with graphs and images, please follow the link: www.livingstreets.org.uk/inclusivedesign

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