Readibus
Encyclopedia
ReadiBus is an on-demand transport service for disabled people in the area of Reading
, Berkshire
, England
. It is one of the most successful and enduring of such systems to be created. It was founded in 1981 by a collaboration between the voluntary sector and Reading Borough Council, the local authority for the area. The service operates as a charity.
ReadiBus was the brainchild of Colm Lyons who developed the idea in collaboration with David Cochrane of Bulmershe College, Reading, now part of Reading University and established the system on the ground. Lyons, a Chile
an of Irish descent whose family fled Chile in the aftermath of the 1973 coup was a strong advocate of disabled rights.
Influenced by people like the Brazil
ian Paolo Freire, Lyons considered that people were not of themselves disabled but were disabled by society and by the attitudes of the majority population. He organized the funding for the project not through the usual channels for social projects but by persuading the council and the government that the project should be run alongside the public transport system in the town and should appear in a modified form of the public system livery. In doing so he incurred opposition from many groups for disabled and elderly in the area who felt that they were losing their power over their members for whom they had provided limited forms of transport to their own facilities. Lyons considered such groups to be more motivated by self interest than real concern for disabled rights and argued that public transport to a destination of ones own choice was a right of all people and should be available to those with restricted mobility.
Lyons returned to Chile in 2001 and became active in issues of indigenous rights. He died on a winter trip in the Andes
between Chile and Argentina
in July 2009. He left a wife Isabel (Montoya) and two children.
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is one of the most successful and enduring of such systems to be created. It was founded in 1981 by a collaboration between the voluntary sector and Reading Borough Council, the local authority for the area. The service operates as a charity.
ReadiBus was the brainchild of Colm Lyons who developed the idea in collaboration with David Cochrane of Bulmershe College, Reading, now part of Reading University and established the system on the ground. Lyons, a Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an of Irish descent whose family fled Chile in the aftermath of the 1973 coup was a strong advocate of disabled rights.
Influenced by people like the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Paolo Freire, Lyons considered that people were not of themselves disabled but were disabled by society and by the attitudes of the majority population. He organized the funding for the project not through the usual channels for social projects but by persuading the council and the government that the project should be run alongside the public transport system in the town and should appear in a modified form of the public system livery. In doing so he incurred opposition from many groups for disabled and elderly in the area who felt that they were losing their power over their members for whom they had provided limited forms of transport to their own facilities. Lyons considered such groups to be more motivated by self interest than real concern for disabled rights and argued that public transport to a destination of ones own choice was a right of all people and should be available to those with restricted mobility.
Lyons returned to Chile in 2001 and became active in issues of indigenous rights. He died on a winter trip in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
between Chile and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in July 2009. He left a wife Isabel (Montoya) and two children.