Nick Smith MP wants buses to take the worry out of journeys for blind people as he backed an announcement scheme at Labour Party Conference.

The Blaenau Gwent 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.

Finding out more about Guide Dogs’ work, Mr Smith heard that 7 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.

Speaking after visiting the exhibit, Mr Smith said: “Remembering the journeys at Guide Dogs’ conference stand was a great way of emphasising how difficult it is for a bus driver to always remember to tell people when to get off.

“AV is such a simple solution and would ensure access for all to a form of public transport that is so vital to people’s everyday lives.”

AV is essential for people with sight loss to live independently, yet only one fifth of the UK’s buses have AV. Without AV bus passengers with sight loss have to ask the driver to remember to tell them when they have reached their stop.

AV doesn’t 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 said they would use the bus more frequently if it had AV.  

James White, Campaigns Manager at Guide Dogs said: “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 Nick Smith to call for the mandatory installation of AV on buses, something that is cheap to do.”