Video: Blind people swap places with bus drivers

Drivers from Stagecoach took part in tasks such as trying to board a bus and paying for a ticket. It’s hoped it will prompt operators to better understand the everyday challenges of living with a visual disability.

A recent RNIB survey of blind and partially sighted people revealed a number of barriers:

• 9 in 10 people with sight loss cannot see an approaching bus in time to hail it

• 8 in 10 people with sight loss say they miss the bus they want

• 6 in 10 people said buses which stopped away from the official bus stop caused them to often miss their bus or step off the bus into hazards such as bins and lampposts

Over half of respondents said they had difficulty obtaining spoken information from the driver such as the bus number and destination.

Click on the video to see how the drivers coped and the reaction from their partially sighted passengers