When Victoria Garcia MBE returned to work after a traumatic head injury in 2010, she found herself at the heart of a movement that would change public transport in the UK. As Accessibility and Communities Manager for Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus – part of the Go-Ahead Group under Kinetic – Garcia pioneered inclusive practices that are now being shared across Kinetic’s global operations.
Recently appointed the UK’s Disability and Access Ambassador for Buses and Coaches, Garcia visited Australia this month to share her learnings with Kinetic’s local teams and stakeholders. The exchange is part of Kinetic’s drive to strengthen accessibility standards across its Australian networks.
Garcia says her starting point was listening to passengers.
“I recognised a pattern where our complaints were very high in accessibility areas,” she says.
That led to her appointment as the UK’s first dedicated bus accessibility professional, a role that has grown to influence national policy.
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One of her key achievements is a “three-tier philosophy” that embeds accessibility into every part of the organisation: training for all leaders, dedicated accessibility resources across departments, and impact assessments before any operational change.
“In 2013, when I first started, speaking with colleagues about accessibility was quite a difficult subject,” Garcia says. “Now it’s just how we work.”
The case for accessibility, she argues, is not only moral but financial. The UK’s “Purple Pound” – the annual spending power of people with disability and their families – is valued at £274 billion. With one in five consumers identifying as having accessibility requirements, the potential market for inclusive services is vast.
Simple interventions can also make a difference. Dementia-friendly flooring, high-contrast stickers on payment machines, accessible print materials and award-winning initiatives like the Helping Hand assistance card have transformed journeys in the UK. New audio systems such as Bluetooth Auracast are also being trialled to improve experiences for passengers with hearing loss.
Garcia says Australia has valuable lessons of its own, particularly in co-design. She praised the inclusion of two wheelchair bays as standard on new buses and the collaborative processes that involve people with disability from the earliest stages of design.
“There’s good practice on both sides,” Garcia says. “We’re all learning all the time.”
Kinetic says Garcia’s visit underscores its commitment to leading accessibility improvements across its global network. By connecting experts in the UK and Australia, the company is ensuring its services continue to deliver for all passengers.
“Having this incredible opportunity to travel to Australia and learn from the teams here has been phenomenal,” Garcia says.
“There have been learnings on both sides, and it’s been a great example of why it’s so important to bring people together.”
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