Passengers want Stephen Fry to be the voice they hear on buses

Passengers want Stephen Fry to be the voice they hear on buses

In a poll carried out for Guide Dogs by YouGov, the nation has voted Stephen Fry (14%) as the celebrity voice they would most like to hear on board the bus announcing their stop is coming up.

Whereas most trains now have audio announcements about the next stop and destination, buses haven’t quite caught up yet. Two thirds of people (66%) who responded to the survey said it would make bus travel easier if there were on-board announcements about where the bus is going and what stop is coming up.

David Cowdrey from Guide Dogs said: “We aren’t surprised that people think buses would be better if they talked. As well as making life easier for everyone, they would make it safer – in particular for vulnerable passengers who risk ending up at the wrong stop, such as blind people who can’t see where they are, and wheelchair users who face backwards on buses.”

Of the people who voted for a celebrity voice to give announcements, Stephen Fry was top with 14 percent, with Jeremy Clarkson second at 10 percent. The favourite female voice was Joanna Lumley with nine percent, while four percent went for Cheryl Cole.

Interestingly, around a third of respondents (35%) did not want to hear a celebrity voice on the bus at all. This reflects what has happened in the areas of the UK that have already introduced Talking Buses, where people with a local accent have been chosen to give the information to passengers.

Guide Dogs believes all buses and coaches ought to be required by law to provide audio and visual information on-board, to make journeys easier and safer for all passengers. It has launched a campaign for ‘Talking Buses’ after discvovering that many disabled people – who are often dependent on public transport to get around – find it impossible to use buses with confidence for fear of being stranded at the wrong stop.

It hopes more people – not just those who are disabled – would be encouraged to get on board buses if they had better information. Companies including Transport for London, Trent Barton Buses (Nottingham and Leicester) and Thamesdown Transport (Swindon) have successfully introduced ‘Talking Buses’ and report that customer satisfaction levels have risen substantially.

More information about the campaign is available on the Guide Dogs website at www.guidedogs.org.uk/talkingbuses