Accessible Public Transport

Accessibility features, such as wheelchair access and audio and visual aids, are built into all new public transport infrastructure projects and vehicles from the design stage. Newer systems such as LUAS are fully accessible.

There are legacy issues in relation to older infrastructure and facilities, for example Victorian era railway infrastructure.

The DOT funds an ongoing programme of accessibility improvement grants to upgrade existing older infrastructure and facilities, which is managed by the NTA. This funds programmes to: install accessible bus stops, upgrade train stations to make them wheelchair accessible, and provide grant support for the introduction of more wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) into the taxi fleet.

Budget 2018 included a multi-annual allocation of almost €28 million for the public transport accessibility retro-fit programme for the period 2018-2021. The National Development Plan (NDP) 2018-2027 includes a number of new major public transport projects which will be fully accessible as part of the normal design. There will also be continued funding under the NDP for the retro-fitting of older existing public transport facilities.