New Bus Driver Training Materials Created by Blind and Partially Sighted People

Date posted: 25th September 2024

UK charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) and its volunteer-led Sight Loss Councils (SLCs), marked the end of Catch the Bus Month, September 2024, with the launch of a new approved training resource for bus and coach drivers to deliver best practice customer service to blind or partially sighted (BPS) passengers.

The training, ‘Vision Impairment Awareness for Bus Drivers’, has the potential to impact all bus and coach drivers across the country. The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has approved the materials for its members, who make up 95 per cent of local bus services and 60 per cent of coach operators across the UK.

The Driver Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) also confirmed the content is suitable and has met conditions for the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) training which bus and coach drivers undertake every five years.

Blind and partially sighted volunteers created the training using first hand, lived experience of bus travel and working with Brighton and Hove Buses to #MakeBusesAccessible. The three training videos are narrated by Paralympic Gold Medallist, Lora Fachie OBE, a former Sight Loss Council member.

Read more in-depth details of this exciting news https://www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk/news/launch-of-approved-bus-driver-training/)