Bus passengers with vision disabilities in Coventry and Warwickshire are calling on bus companies to introduce ‘next-stop’ announcements on all buses, Coventry Observer reports
They say people with vision disabilities are missing their destinations, or are unable to find timetable information, as bus stops and buses are not set up with audio announcements.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Branch of the National Federation of the blind is now campaigning for announcements on all services by the end of City of Culture year 2021. The branch said people with serious sight loss want to alight with confidence at their destination.
Branch secretary Karina Gregory said: “If Coventry is to deserve the grand title, ‘City of Culture’, it must ensure that all its citizens with disabilities can access the buses and travel without anxiety about alighting where they actually want to go.” Research by the NFB branch found while new models of buses have ‘next-stop’ announcements, too many buses had no audio information at all.
National Express revealed it only had next-stop announcements on three routes in Coventry, and on 400 new buses which could use the technology out of its fleet of 1100.
