Metro Trains speaks your language
Metro Trains speaks your language
Metro Trains frontline staff will soon be sporting a new addition to their uniforms, wearing language badges to easily identify staff who speak languages other than English.
The language badges are available for any language as well as Auslan for people with profound hearing loss, ensuring passengers and tourists can more easily communicate and ask questions as they travel across the train network.
More than 350 badges have already been ordered by Metro Trains staff including Authorised Officers and station staff who speak dozens of languages including Thai, French and Persian.
Importantly, the initiative also allows Metro staff to proudly celebrate their cultural heritage.
Metro Trains Acting CEO Pete Ryan says, “At Metro, we want to represent the community we serve and this initiative is a great way to ensure our passengers who speak a language other than English feel confident as they travel around the public transport network.
“I’m incredibly proud of the diversity of our staff – in fact, four of our Authorised Officers speak 13 languages between them.”
The proportion of people born overseas in Victoria who come from non-main English speaking countries is now more than 77 per cent – the highest for all Australian states and territories. Being able to identify a staff member who speaks their language will give passengers navigating the public transport system more confidence.
Authorised Officer Matthew Davies who speaks six languages says, “I love to learn languages and am very proud to speak six languages. I’ve surprised passengers travelling on the network when I can communicate to them in another language.”
A survey of public transport passengers from the Department of Transport and Planning reveals approximately 1 in 2 passengers who have recently travelled on public transport speak a language other than English at home.
Passengers are encouraged to look out for staff who will proudly display the language(s) they speak along with an easy to identify flag on a badge.
As part of Metro Trains Cultural and Diversity strategy, staff will also soon be able to show their support for diversity, with reconciliation, Pride and Gender Equality badges now available.