11 July 2008

Dear Colleagues,

You may have seen or heard the recent media coverage regarding two lively senior citizens who set off last Tuesday on a 72-hour whistle-stop tour. They covered 700 miles and visited six cities travelling from the top to the bottom of Ireland, using only bus and train and their Senior SmartPass.

Our PR department set up this feature with the local media and invited the two ladies, Eileen Curran and Colette McKenna, to take up the challenge to show NI seniors that free public transport is the ‘route’ to a more active, fulfilled and adventurous life.

The intrepid duo travelled from Belfast to Londonderry, Omagh, Enniskillen, Armagh, Newry, Dublin and Cork and back. I am pleased to hear that they had a fantastic trip thoroughly enjoying their experiences and all services worked like clockwork. They also had very favourable comments about our staff and customer care.

Much work and effort went into the planning and coordination of this venture and the media coverage secured to date has been excellent with TV, radio and printed press covering their story including UTV, U105, BBC Radio Ulster, Citybeat, Newsletter, the Mirror and local regional papers. I understand that some of you had the pleasure of meeting the two ladies on their travels and would like to thank you for your support and contribution towards making their trip such a success.

We hope this initiative will help inform eligible seniors of the huge benefits of the Senior SmartPass including how easy it is to use whether for day-to-day activities or for adventures further afield, particularly with the increasing financial pressures of today.

More seniors are travelling with us every day – over 150,000 additional senior journeys made this year so far. With the application process now underway for the new 60+ SmartPass for 60-64 year olds entitling them to free travel in Northern Ireland, we hope to see even more people take to our buses and trains from October this year.

We very much thank our senior ambassadors Eileen and Colette for taking up this challenge and encourage you to remind your own family and friends who are eligible for a Senior SmartPass to take full advantage of it!

Catherine Mason,

Group Chief Executive