April 2019
Audiovisual equipment on buses can support a wide range of disabled passengers to feel sufficiently confident to use buses. It enables them to access education, employment and other services, whether or not they are familiar with the route they are travelling.
I welcome that through the Bus Services Act (2017), accessible information powers will require all bus operators who operate local services across Great Britain to provide audio and visual route and next-stop announcements on board buses. The Government has also committed, through the Inclusive Transport Strategy, to investing £2 million towards ensuring audiovisual equipment is installed on buses.
As you are aware, last year the Government launched a consultation on up-to-the-minute and accessible bus information. I understand that officials are analysing responses submitted to the consultation and that the Government will announce its next steps regarding the making of regulations and publication of guidance later this year.
I am also pleased that in 2018 the Government amended the legislation underpinning the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to protect the bus pass for disabled people, as well as the pass for the elderly, ensuring that they can both continue to be offered for years to come.