Bridging the Gap: How Registered Professionals Are Changing Lives Through Travel Training at The Wayfinding Centre
At The Wayfinding Centre, we often speak of universal design, integrated systems, and policy change. But the real momentum behind transport inclusion doesn’t come from strategy alone. It comes from one-to-one relationships — those quiet, powerful moments when someone takes their first step toward independence, supported by a trusted professional.
Zoe Cole is one of those professionals.
Working with Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland (SBHI), Zoe completed the Wayfinding Centre’s Registered Professional (RP) Train the Trainer program in December 2024. The two-hour onboarding session empowers professionals across the disability sector — from support workers and OTs to educators and advocates — to deliver goal-focused, person-centred travel training right here at the Centre.
Since then, Zoe has brought several of her members to The Wayfinding Centre to begin their travel journeys — not just through transport systems, but toward greater confidence, independence, and opportunity.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen is the difference in their confidence levels — even after just one session. They stand taller. They feel like it’s possible to use public transport, and that opens up everything — college, work, social life,” Zoe shares.
One of Zoe’s members, a young woman from Mayo who is a wheelchair user, is about to start her studies at UCD. She’ll live in Dublin during the week and return home on Fridays. The idea of using public transport alone in a new city was daunting — until she realised she could start her training at The Wayfinding Centre.
With Zoe’s support, she will practice boarding buses, DART and Luas; learn how to read real-time information and apps; explore signage and wayfinding; and develop problem-solving strategies — all in a quiet, pressure-free, simulated environment. Then Zoe will work with her to put those skills into practice and learn the route from Heuston Station to UCD.
This is the power of the Registered Professional model.
By enabling professionals like Zoe to bring the people they support into the Centre for practical, supported training, we’re creating a bridge between learning and lived experience. It's not about abstract theory — it's about action, participation, and real-world skills.
“The RP training made it so easy,” Zoe says. “It was just a two-hour session, and since then, booking has been seamless. The new Transport and Training Enquiry Form on the website makes it all straightforward.”
Zoe often begins with an introductory session so people can explore the Centre, get comfortable, and see what's possible. From there, she tailors follow-up sessions around specific travel goals — whether it’s mastering the Luas, building confidence on buses, or preparing for air travel.
The Centre’s calm, controlled environment is an ideal starting point — a place to build skills before facing the real-world complexity of crowded terminals and unfamiliar routes.
One early challenge Zoe encountered was awareness.
“Some of my members didn’t realise what was available here or how helpful it could be,” she explains. So she recorded a short 30-second video showing the setup — the bus, coach, DART and Luas platforms, plane cabin, real-time displays and road crossings. The result? A waitlist of people eager to begin travel training at the Centre!
The Registered Professional program isn’t about teaching transport theory — it’s about enabling practice, participation, and possibility.
It gives disability sector professionals the tools, space, and support to deliver meaningful travel training — starting within the walls of The Wayfinding Centre and continuing out into everyday life.
Because confidence doesn’t come from reading a timetable.
It comes from knowing you can take the journey — and having someone beside you who believes you can too.
Become a Registered Professional at The Wayfinding Centre.
Deliver the training that transforms futures.
👉 Register your interest using the short form : Getting started as a TWC RP on our Contact Us page.
