From next year, an accessibility course will become a compulsory element of the core training programme at the LKP “Lvivelektrotrans” Drivers’ School. The decision was made following a series of training sessions for electric public transport drivers and consultations with experts in accessible urban space.
The company notes that the job descriptions of tram and trolleybus drivers include assisting passengers with disabilities and other people with reduced mobility. Therefore, skills in correctly using ramps, boarding and alighting passengers, as well as ethical communication, have been incorporated into the initial training of future drivers.
During the pilot phase of the course “Know. Be able. Practise. Accessibility in public transport”, held on the premises of the tram depot in Lviv, participants practised how to act in non-standard situations at stops. In particular, they trained to work with a folding ramp when it has to be lowered onto the carriageway, or when, due to the terrain, an excessively steep and hazardous angle of inclination is created.
Eight prospective tram drivers took part in the training. All of them received information leaflets with passenger service protocols, and five of them — Ivan, Maksym, Bohdana, Antonina and Anastasiia — additionally completed the practical module under the supervision of experts. They are to receive certificates after passing their exams and obtaining a category “T” driving licence.
The LKP “Lvivelektrotrans” project is being implemented in cooperation with inclusive urban environment experts Ruslan Pryhoda and Nazarí Krasovskyi, who are helping adapt the training programme to the needs of passengers with reduced mobility.
At the same time, the company continues to recruit for its trolleybus driver training group. For trainees starting with no prior experience, financial incentives and guarantees are provided: a monthly scholarship of 10,000 UAH for the entire training period, a one-off bonus of 10,000 UAH after successfully passing the exams at the Ministry of Internal Affairs service centre, as well as guaranteed official employment from the first working day, a stable salary, a full social package and the right to an early retirement pension.