Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Fifth Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2013-14, on Access to Transport for Disabled People, HC 116, what assessment he has made of the progress of bus operators in installing audio-visual announcement systems for people with sight loss as recommended in paragraph 29 of that report.

The Department for Transport recognises that many people find audio and visual announcements useful for travelling. Given the obvious benefits of these systems to blind and partially sighted passengers, we are keen to encourage operators and local authorities to invest in this technology for their buses, where possible.

However, we also understand that the installation of this technology comes at a considerable cost.

My noble colleague, Baroness Kramer, wrote to bus operators on 4^th February 2014 to encourage the development of more affordable audio-visual systems. In addition, on 2^nd July 2014 Baroness Kramer outlined plans for a further research initiative, run by the Department for Transport and the Transport Systems catapult, involving small businesses and academic institutions to encourage further innovation in this area.