Hi Everyone, 

I just want to take this opportunity to thank Unite the Union for sharing my campaign and empathising the importance of this given that people with disabilities are too long being faced with the inequalities compared to their peers in the Rest of the UK and Republic of Ireland. 

The image I included in this post is potentially showing the cost of free travel, £889K which is under £1m, the costs may double of course to under £2m. This is very little spend comparing to the rest of the expenditures in the Department's spending. If the DFI Minister Liz Kimmins MLA is serious about Accessible Transport, then this needs to be in place! 

Let me remind you, what the positives mean for here if Free Travel is coming: 

• Better prospects for jobs (disabled people can work without worrying about what's coming out of their wages)
• Financial Savings for the individuals (While the cost of living is rising every year, it removes the meaning of half-fare in these smartpasses, therefore putting disabled people in a huge disadvantage) 
• Makes the journey easier for the individuals (Meaning they just tap their pass in the machine and go on to their seats)
• Makes the process quicker (Half Fare Smartpass while paying for the ticket makes it inconvenient for the individual, other passengers and even the driver)
• Better for the environment (To encourage disabled people to do their part to protect the environment and embrace public transport, this needs to be free travel for them to fully take advantage and for their participation)

These positives should overcome the costs of this scheme. I will be meeting with the DFI Minister at the 3rd June to discuss this, I am cautiously optimistic but I am hoping for a positive outcome and I will take the time to remind the minister that this is embarrassing that we are behind in terms of equality. 

Thank you to everyone who signed, shared. I also would like to take the time to thank Unite the Union for sharing this, I am also getting in contact with other Trade Unions in Northern Ireland to try and get this all amplified before I meet with the minister. My next update is if we reach 1k signatures.... Let's do this! :) 

Thanks Again

Aaron