Making sure you get home safely over Christmas and New Year is the focus of the seasonal safety campaign this winter.
Whether it’s dinner with friends, a night out revelling or quiet drinks in, the Isle of Man Constabulary and bus vannin have joined forces to promote this year’s festive message and encourage everyone to plan ahead.
A new online map has also launched, helping passengers see their bus location in real time – reducing the chance of missing a bus home, or spending too long waiting this winter.
This year’s campaign focuses on making the right choice to get home safely. It aims to encourage people to plan how they will get home – and think about whether they will walk, take a bus, book a taxi or catch a lift with a designated driver.
As part of the campaign, bus vannin are raising awareness of their Night Owl services which will be running during the festive period to help party-goers get home.
These late buses will run every Friday and Saturday night from 3 December to 18 December, and on New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Morning, at 00:15 and 01:15.
To help make the journey home run smoothly, passengers can now visit www.findmybus.im and track their buses. The new page has been designed to be clear and easy to use, so customers can quickly find their bus on the map in real time.
Minister for Infrastructure, Tim Crookall MHK, said:
‘This tracker will be great tool for our bus vannin passengers during the festive season. It takes away the unknown and you can now see exactly where your particular bus is, reducing waiting time at bus stops.’
‘It will also be useful all year round - helping parents see where their children are when using the school services and help tourists who may not know exactly where they are by having the option to track themselves whilst on the bus using the bus WIFI, so they can make sure they get off the bus where they need to.’
Posters and pocket-size festive timetables will be distributed to pubs around the island and at other events, including during late night shopping. The campaign will also be working alongside the taxi companies to ensure everyone makes it home safely.
Police patrol units will be out and about on the Island’s roads throughout the festive period while the Road Safety Team will promote the campaign online and in person to shoppers.
Chief Constable Gary Roberts said:
‘This year’s campaign aims to encourage the public to start thinking now about their plans this festive season, and to make safe choices for drinking responsibly and getting home safely. Each year we see the consequences of people taking risks through excessive alcohol consumption – from drink driving to disorderly behaviour. We know that it is the minority that make these bad decisions, so we’re asking everyone this festive season to plan ahead and make the right choice to get home.’
For more information on late buses, visit www.bus.im or call +44 1624 662525 between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday.
