Success for Guide Dogs 'Talking Buses' campaign
Passengers with sight loss in Wales can look forward to more accessible local travel, thanks to the success of Guide Dogs' Talking Buses campaign. The Department for Transport has introduced measures that will see buses fitted with audio-visual announcements, and Andrea Gordon of Guide Dogs Cymru is in touch with Welsh Government to pinpoint exactly how this will be rolled out in Wales.
For many people with sight loss, bus travel is difficult or near impossible due to a lack of audio next stop announcements. Guide Dogs led the campaign for next-stop final-destination audio-visual (AV) announcements through its long running Talking Buses campaign, which launched in 2009.
Welcoming the news, guide dog owner Hilary Lester said: “Having audio announcements on all buses would be amazing and would improve things no end. Only recently, I was late for an important meeting because my bus had no AV and the driver forgot to tell me we’d reached my stop. I had to walk in late and could have cried. With AV, passengers can travel independently and we won’t have to worry.”
You can read the Department of Transport's announcement here.
Posted on the 21st of April 2023