Strath MP welcomes blind charity’s ‘talking buses’ campaign
Badenoch and Strathspey MP Danny Alexander has welcomed Guide Dogs’ campaign for ‘talking buses’ that will help blind or partially sighted people use public transport safely.
Seven in 10 bus passengers with sight loss have been forgotten by a bus driver.
For a sighted person, missing a stop is an annoyance, but for someone with sight loss, it is potentially very dangerous.
Mr Alexander got the chance to experience for himself why people with sight loss need audio-visual announcements (AV) on buses, through playing a memory game, at the Liberal Democrat Party conference in Glasgow last week.
Mr Alexander said: "The Guide Dogs’ stall at our Lib Dem conference in Glasgow was a great way of emphasising how difficult it is for a bus driver to always remember to tell people when to get off.
"For many people with limited sight who live in the Highlands, public transport can be a life line and an absolute necessity. And it can be doubly so for those who live in the more remote communities.
"The ‘talking buses’ initiative is a fantastic idea and I wish Guide Dogs all the best with their campaign."
James White, campaigns manager at Guide Dogs commented: "Guide dogs do fantastic work getting people out and about safely, and the lack of AV acts as a real barrier to their independence.
"That’s why we’re urging politicians like Mr Alexander to call for the mandatory installation of AV on buses, something that is cheap to do."
