MP supports Guide Dogs’ Talking Buses campaign

Alison Seabeck, MP for Plymouth Moor View, showed her support this week for a campaign led by the charity ‘Guide Dogs’, aiming to make travelling by bus easier for people with sight loss.

Ms Seabeck attended a reception at the Houses of Parliament on 2 July in support of Guide Dogs’ campaign to make sure all new buses have audio visual (AV) next stop announcements, which are vital for blind and partially sighted bus travellers.

The reception highlighted how announcements enable blind and partially sighted people to understand their location, and prevent them from missing their stops.  

AV systems are only fitted to around one fifth of the bus fleet nationally, with the overwhelming majority of these buses operating in London.  

Ms Seabeck said: “Real progress has been made in terms of improvements to buses in Plymouth by First and CityBus, but more can be done and companies like Target Travel also need to consider, when they upgrade their buses, the inclusion of audio visual aids.”

Guide Dogs is calling for the Government to require all new buses be fitted with AV, as currently bus operators are under no obligation to include this technology when upgrading their fleet.