Stephen
Metcalfe MP: joins the campaign to end ‘game of chance’ bus services for blind
people
Stephen Metcalfe MP got a
chance to experience for himself why people with sight loss need audio-visual
announcements (AV) on buses, through playing a memory game, at the Conservative
Party conference this week.
Stephen Metcalfe commented:
“Clearly, AV is essential for people with sight loss to live independently.
Without it, passengers with sight loss are forced to ask drivers to remember to
tell them when they have reached their stop.
The fact that 7 in 10 bus
passengers with sight loss have been forgotten by a bus drivers demonstrates
the need for us to take action.”
For a sighted person, missing
a stop is an annoyance, but for someone with sight loss, it is distressing and
potentially dangerous. AV does not just help people with sight loss – tourists,
older people and infrequent bus users all find AV useful.
Guide Dogs released their
Destination Unknown report this September showing that nearly half of survey
respondents would use the bus more frequently if it had AV. To found out more,
people should visit the Guide Dogs website at:
