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Local bus user Grace with assistance dog Star
Local bus user Grace with assistance dog Star

Press release -

Go North East supports accessibility improvements on its game-changing fleet

Go North East, the region’s largest bus company, is excited to be showing its support for disabled people and those with mobility needs.

Last month, local bus user Grace was welcomed into the company’s Gateshead Riverside depot, with her trainee assistance dog, Star, to practice getting on and off buses.

Star’s training took place on one of the company’s zero-emission VOLTRA buses.

Assistance dogs are trained to support disabled people and people with medical conditions in a variety of ways.

The company has now introduced 18 game-changing electric buses which operate through Newcastle and Gateshead on services 53, 54 and Q3.

These buses are packed with the latest technology to improve accessibility: wide gangways; dedicated wheelchair and buggy bays; and ‘next stop’ audio-visual announcements which build upon facilities available on diesel buses by having a repeater screen facing the opposite direction for the disabled and buggy bay.

The company is also trialling an induction hearing loop on one of these buses, acknowledging that travelling alone on public transport can be a daunting task for deaf people, as ambient noise and physical barriers makes communication with the driver difficult.

Dan Graham, Commercial Development Manager at Go North East said: “Travelling by bus is a vital part of the lives of many, so we’re very pleased to be able to support the training of assistance dogs like Star to help owners like Grace travel with confidence.

We are committed to working with bus users and groups to improve accessibility on our buses.

All our new buses are fitted with ‘next stop’ audio-visual announcements as standard, and we are excited to be trialling an induction hearing loop on one of our VOLTRA buses, in partnership with supplier McKenna Brothers.”

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On the Go since 1913

Around 175,000 journeys are made on Go North East bus services every day to travel around this wonderful region. Travelling to work or education, to visit friends and family, to have a night out, or to visit one of the region's many tourist and leisure attractions.

For over 100 years, Go North East has connected the region's towns and villages with the cities of Newcastle, Durham and Sunderland and currently operates across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and into Tees Valley.

Employing over 2,000 local people, with a fleet of almost 700 buses and coaches and an annual turnover of £100m, the company is the regional subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group plc, one of the UK's leading providers of passenger transport.

Go North East

117 Queen Street
NE8 2UA Gateshead