Rugby MP, Mark Pawsey brings to the Minister’s attention an important issue raised by a visually impaired constituent.
Pawsey, Member of Parliament for Rugby, took the opportunity to raise an issue brought to him by a constituent who is visually impaired and regularly uses public transport. He was able to ask Transport Minister Norman Baker MP a question during Transport Questions in the Chamber of the House of Commons yesterday (23rd June), and was encouraged by his response.
He asked the Minister:
“I received a visit from my constituent, Lionel Broughton, on this matter with regard to buses. My local bus company, Stagecoach, has said that it will look at introducing visual and voice announcements on its fleet. Can the Minister do anything to give the industry a nudge?”
Transport Minister Norman Baker MP replied:
“I am delighted to say that I wrote to the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents the main bus operators, on 23 May, to give exactly that nudge.”
Speaking after the debate, Mark said:
“I have already voiced my concerns on this matter with Stagecoach Midlands, and their response was that they had no proposals to introduce automatic voice announcements in the Rugby area in the foreseeable future, but they would be looking at the issue again.”
He added:
“ I have also attended meetings in Westminster with Guide Dogs, they have worked hard to raise awareness by launching their ‘Talking Buses’ Campaign, which calls to make audio-visual announcements on all new buses a legal requirement. I have every sympathy with my Constituent on this issue, and am pleased that I have been able to bring about recognition of at least some of the difficulties faced by those with disabilities when travelling out and about.”