A few weeks ago a Labour MP, Grahame Morris asked a question of the Department of Transport regarding the provision of signage and sound systems on buses. Although his question was specific to his North East constituency it was a question that thankfully led to an answer that relates to the rest of the nation too. The answer was provided by Nusrat Ghani, the MP for Wealden which includes at least one bus route that covers almost the whole of her constituency after it leaves Brighton and passes through Lewes. Her response was:

“The Government believes that transport should work for everyone and passengers should have the information they need to connect them with the places they want to go to. There is currently no single source which captures data on on-board announcements. For bus operators, the decision of whether to provide audible and visible information has, to date, been a commercial one. However, the Government has begun to collect data on the number of buses which are equipped with facilities to provide audible and visible next stop information. We will publish this data later this year as part of our annual bus statistics. In July this year we also launched a consultation to require the provision of audible and visible information on local services in Great Britain.”

It is clearly vital that as buses are fitted with public address systems that the provision of hearing loops is also included so that people who rely on hearing aids can hear the same announcements.