North East blind man 'daunted' by getting on bus welcomes new audio visual alerts

Kris Jepson heard how challenging it can be for visually impaired people to use public transport - and what is being done to improve their experience

A man living with sight loss says he is "daunted" every time he gets on a bus because he has to rely on members of the public to assist him.

Phillip Ward, from Longbenton, Newcastle, told ITV News Tyne Tees he does not have the same independence full sighted commuters have due a lack of accessibility on the bus networks.

"It can be very daunting and for some people it actually is a barrier to trying to use buses at all," he said.

"You’re just having to always think and be alert and anxiously checking with the members of the public who’ve said they’re going to help you, to make sure they’re still there, or to occasionally go to the bus driver to make sure you haven’t missed a stop.

"It’s not really how people want to travel and no-one else has to experience that."

Travelling on a bus in Blyth, Phillip was able to experience a journey with visual and audio updates which helped him know where he was on the bus route and when to get off.

He is also partially deaf, so the audio visual technology, he said, really helps him reclaim his independence.

"To actually have that assurance of an announcement, knowing that you’re going to be secure and confident to get off where you need to go and not miss your stop, really helps you to relax and think more positively about the prospect of a journey rather than having to stress about it and plan a lot in advance," Phillip explained.

From Monday 8 April, smaller bus and coach operators can apply for a grant from a £4.65 million pot in order to install the new technology. The grants will help smaller firms come in line with the larger bus operators, like Go North East.

Disability charities have campaigned for the audio visual technology to be rolled out across the whole transport network for more than a decade.

Guide Dogs recently carried out a survey of blind commuters and said the feedback was concerning.

Chris Theobald, from the charity, told ITV News Tyne Tees: "People have reported how that they’ll be let off in the dark, in bad weather, in car parks in the middle of nowhere, not by the pavement, so they’re potentially put in danger of oncoming traffic.

"But the big thing is with the negative experiences, people just don’t have the confidence to caryy out those journeys independently and just avoid using buses altogether."

Around 12 million people in the UK have hearing loss and up to two million live with sight loss, so installing the sensory updates on all buses by October 2026 will benefit many of those commuters.

Go North East already has the tech installed.

Ben Maxfield, from the bus company, said: "We programme into a system all of the stops along a route and the speakers then announce those stops as and when the buses are approaching them. In all honesty, it provides a really great addition to our accessibility."

Transport Minister, Guy Opperman, told ITV News: "This grant funding for the smaller operators is our way of helping them get this over the line, so that the bus should be accessible for everyone and, most importantly, everybody should have the ability to get any bus and it is accessible."

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