Getting off at the right bus stop is like “playing a game of chance”, says guide dog owner Linda, about her experiences navigating the bus network without sight.

Marcus Jones 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 last week.

AV is essential for people with sight loss to live independently and, without AV, bus passengers with sight loss have to ask the driver to remember to tell them when they have reached their stop.

Finding out more about Guide Dogs’ work, the MP for Nuneaton 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 distressing and potentially dangerous.

Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones commented, “I have been out on a blind folded bus ride and experienced the difficulties faced by blind and partially sighted people travelling on busses.

Bus drivers do an important job and have to concentrate hard on the road and keeping their passengers safe. There are so many distractions for the driver that remembering which stop a blind passenger needs could sometimes be tricky.

That’s why I support the principle of local busses having similar AV equipment to that which is available in most busses in London.”

James White, Campaigns Manager at Guide Dogs commented:

“Guide dogs do fantastic work getting people out and about safely, but the lack of AV acts as a real barrier to their independence. That’s why we’re urging politicians like Marcus Jones MP to call for the installation of AV on all new buses, something which is cheap to do.”

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 would use the bus more frequently if it had AV.