Launch of free approved driver training materials with Thomas Pocklington Trust

The end of September’s Catch the Bus Month initiative was marked by Sight Loss Councils and Thomas Pocklington Trust’s launch of new approved bus driver training materials.
The free materials for bus and coach drivers have been developed and co-created with Brighton & Hove Buses and BSP (blind partially sighted) volunteers using their lived experience.

The ‘Vision Impairment Awareness for Bus Drivers’ are free to all bus operators and trainers, and have been approved and supported by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

The videos were designed and filmed in Brighton and are narrated by Paralympic gold medalist and World Champion Cyclist Lora Fachie OBE.

In the training videos, Sight Loss Council volunteers explain how the bus driver is key to enable them to maintain their independence, and how they can make or break a journey, by, for example:

•    Seeing them at a bus stop and stopping because they cannot see buses to flag them down.
•    Speaking to them, such as explaining the bus number and destination.
•    Asking if they need any additional support, such as letting them know where a spare seat is and announce when they arrive at their destination.

Watch a short extract from the training materials below: