Improving Accessibility on our Buses!
As the Transport Minister in charge of buses, there are few things more important to me than ensuring buses are accessible to all.
That is why I have introduced new rules that require every local bus or coach service to provide audible announcements and visual displays identifying the route and direction, each upcoming stop, and the beginning of any diversions.
Many do this already but for those that don’t it will be phased in over the next 3 years. For smaller operators DfT are providing up to £5 million in total to help them make the retrofits necessary.
I was recently speaking to the good people at Guide Dogs who were delighted with this. It will make a huge difference - actually for all passengers. Who hasn’t been drifting off looking out the window and missed their stop or been told by a friend to get off at X road - not to quite know where X road is!