The Lord Mayor joined children from schools throughout Greater Belfast and representatives from the PSNI in marking ten years of Translink’s Safety Bus.

The Safety Bus was introduced in 2002 to address issues of antisocial behaviour and since then 250,000 school children have been welcomed aboard the Safety Bus and been educated on issues regarding safety, consideration and respect. 

As a result there has been a major reduction in incidents of vandalism, broken windows and in driver absenteeism, while there has been a marked increase in passenger numbers and customer satisfaction.

Commenting on the special anniversary, Lord Mayor Alderman Gavin Robinson said; “I’m delighted to celebrate the positive contribution the Translink Safety Bus has made to the lives of our young people and to society in general.  Being safety-conscious and treating drivers, passengers and vehicles with respect is important and the powerful message delivered by the safety team is having tremendous impact.  Today we rightly commend them for their work.”

Catherine Mason, Translink Group Chief Executive added; “The Safety Bus has become an integral part of Translink and it is only fitting that we mark this anniversary.  I’d like to thank our Safety team who do a wonderful job in promoting the values of safety and mutual respect, as a society we continue to enjoy the benefits arising from their efforts.”

Staffed by an enthusiastic team, the Safety Bus promotes safety in a fun but hard hitting way as the specially-adapted bus provides an interactive learning experience for children primarily throughout Greater Belfast but also throughout the rest of Northern Ireland.

ENDS