Selfless Dubliner helps blind lady get her freedom back

Aine O’Boyle

A SELFLESS Dubliner has helped over 1,200 people reclaim their independence through the Dublin Bus Travel Assistance Scheme.

Roger Flood has helped transform hundreds of lives, including that of Christina McCarthy, from Rathfarnham, who first started using the Travel Assistance Scheme in her second year of college.

Beginning in 2008, the Travel Assistance Scheme is designed to help people with disabilties navigate their way across Dublin’s public transport system.

“This gentleman, Roger Flood, came to my house, sat down with me and just talked about what I wanted to achieve,” said Christina, who has been blind since birth.

“My mum in particular was quite nervous about me travelling on my own, as I am totally blind.”

Roger took Christina on the journey from her doorstep to Trinity College, where she was studying.

“He came with me for the first few journeys and he went at the times that suited me, so he worked his schedule around my lectures,” Christina said.

“This is going to sound very basic, but when you can’t see, you don’t know where the stop button is on the bus. There’s all this little stuff that you don’t pick up on.”

According to Christina, Roger went through this journey with her, from her front door to college and back, as many times as it took for her to become confident enough to get the bus by herself.

“Even though he has so many people who are pulling him in so many different directions, because the demand is quite high, you never feel like he’s thinking about anyone else, the focus is always on the person he is working with,” she said.

When Christina completed college she availed of the Travel Assistance Scheme again when she started a new job with the Civil Service in the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

“I have been working with the Travel Assistance Scheme recently because I was getting help to go from home to the new job and back,” she explained.

Since taking part in the scheme, Christina has become much more confident in herself.

“I am just a lot more independent and I feel that with that independence has come a confidence,” she added.

“It’s just such a simple thing but it makes all the difference knowing that you’re not always relying on other people, you’re not always asking other people for lifts, and it’s given them a break too.”

This year, Roger accepted a Lord Mayor’s Award on behalf of Dublin Bus in honour of the special contribution he has made to Dublin and its citizens.

Roger said: “Most of us take using public transport for granted in our daily lives… but for thousands it is not that simple and not having the confidence to use public transport can dramatically restrict a person’s independence.”

Roger believes that other businesses should consider the huge impact that a similar service would have on their customers, by making it accessible for all.

“For a small investment it has a considerable impact,” he pointed out.

While already over 1,200 people have availed of this service, it is hoped that  many others will benefit from it in the future.

The Travel Assistance Scheme is completely free and is available for people aged 18 or over.

It is available from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, and works alongside the schedules of its users.