Press releases

Leading transport services organisation, Arriva plc, has demonstrated its commitment to safety by becoming a signatory of the European Road Safety Charter. The European Commission launched the charter with the aim of achieving a 50 per cent reduction in road accidents by 2010 – a saving of 20,000 lives. Arriva signed the charter at a ceremony held at Dublin Castle last week. Other signatories include Esso and Scania.

David Martin, an executive director of Arriva plc responsible for the Group's International division, commented:

We work very hard across our businesses in Europe to improve safety for our customers, our employees, and other road users. Arriva places safety at the heart of everything it does and we are therefore delighted to become a signatory to this charter.

The European Road Safety Charter asks organisations to make a 'declaration of intent' showing a commitment to improving safety and suggesting ways in which the organisation can support safety initiatives.

Arriva offers safety awareness training across its businesses and has introduced initiatives such as CCTV on buses, and customer care training which suggests ways to deal with potential conflict situations.

Other examples of safety initiatives include a bus driving simulation programme in partnership with Cranfield University, and operating buses with lights on during the daytime in a bid to improve vehicle visibility to other road users.

In the UK, the road safety charity, Brake, recognised the commitment made by the Group's UK Bus division to road safety recently. The company was shortlisted in six categories and was successful in winning two categories and receiving highly commended accolades in two others.

For the average passenger trip in the EU, bus travel has a 10 times lower fatality risk than car travel. Modal shift from private to public transport is a valid strategy to achieve the targets set by the European Commission.

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