Welcome on board for Dementia Action Week - Your driver today is a Dementia Friend

May 19th until May 25th is Dementia Action Week, and every year Alzheimer's Society work with individuals and organisations across the UK to encourage people to act on dementia and raise awareness of the importance of an early diagnosis, as well as support those living with dementia.

Since 2016 at Metrobus, we've been raising awareness and training our colleagues across the business to become dementia aware. And now, 9 years on, all our drivers are 'Dementia Friends'. This means that when a customer living with dementia boards the bus, they will now be greeted and welcomed aboard by a dementia friendly driver.

We know the importance of the role that our drivers play in ensuring a better travelling experience for everyone, and by asking our colleagues to take this one action to become dementia friends has already made a huge difference to many of our passengers.

For Dementia Action Week, Victoria Garcia, Accessibility and Communities Manager at Metrobus said:

We now know 1 million people will be living with dementia by 2030 and so as part of our commitment to a more accessible journey for everyone, it's essential we are also an age and dementia friendly business.

In 2015 Alzheimer's society had a UK wide call to action to create 1 million dementia friends. We were proud to answer this call and now all our colleagues are dementia friends, meaning they can now be more confident in assisting people living with dementia. 

Metrobus has a long-standing commitment to making buses accessible for everybody by working with individuals and local organisations like Alzheimer’s Society, Guide Dogs and Possability People.

Brighton woman Shirley Williams lives with dementia  and regularly catches the bus around the city. In a short film called 'Shirley’s Journey', she brings her bus trip to life: “I’m in my eighties and I’m doing everything I want to do. Even just a second to sit in this bus and do it. You’re going to where you’re going, you know what you’re doing and you’re still meeting up with people that you know.”

Watch the film 'Shirley's Journey' below: