Stagecoach East has held round-table discussions with representatives from some of the region’s blind and partially sighted community to learn more about the key problems they face with public transport.
Issues such as access, safety, the implications of electric buses and giving feedback were raised at the meeting, where Bedfordshire Sight Loss Council, Sight Concern Bedfordshire, Camsight, Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, LOOK, and the Royal National Institute of Blind People numbered among the participants.
Since the discussions, Stagecoach East has put in place plans for “swap with me” days in which staff gain a taste of how it is to live with sight loss. It is also planning drop-in days to allow those who are blind or partially sighted to talk with staff at local bus depots.
Ian de Chastelain, Training Manager of Stagecoach East, says: “I firmly believe that we already do a huge amount of good work in how we welcome people with sight loss onto our services – our drivers and the whole team are proud to serve our local communities, and work very hard to do so.
“However, we should always be prepared to listen because there will always be things to learn, and there are certainly some very important messages that I will take away from this discussion.”
Samantha Leftwich, Engagement Manager – East at the Thomas Pocklington Trust, adds: “It was great to work collaboratively with other national and local charities across the region to have discussions with a number of teams at Stagecoach East.
“We already have plans to work with Stagecoach East to raise awareness of living with a vision impairment with their staff and drivers through “swap with me” events and starting conversations with staff through pop-up and drop-in events at their depots.
“Stagecoach East have been great at engaging with us and we look forward to continuing our work across the region working collaboratively to improve services for blind and partially sighted people.”
