Nottingham City Transport has won the Breaking Down Barriers Award at the Guide Dogs Annual Awards 2014, in partnership with Microsoft.
Actress Arabella Weir presented the company with the award at the event, which was attended by more than 450 guests and held at the London Hilton on Park Lane on December 10.
The award celebrates the work being done to break down the barriers that prevent people who are blind or partially sighted from getting out and about on their own terms. Nottingham City Transport was selected for the award because of their commitment to making it easier for people with sight loss to use their buses.
The company has paid for every one of its 800 drivers to have tailored My Guide sighted guide training, which was developed specifically to help them support passengers with sight loss to use their buses confidently.
NCT bus driver, Martin Collins, did his My Guide sighted training last year. He said: “The training’s made me more aware of blind or partially sighted passengers and their needs. It has given me confidence to know how to help a passenger with sight loss if they want to board my bus.”
The company has also made a commitment to fit 100% of their buses with audio-visual announcements, which provide next stop and destination information, by 2017.
Richard Leaman, Guide Dogs’ Chief Executive, said: “The Guide Dogs Annual Awards are a highlight of the year for us and tonight we heard about organisations like Nottingham City Transport, who are doing such sterling work enabling people with sight loss to use their buses confidently.
“In my five years at Guide Dogs, I have witnessed the huge difference we have made and continue to make to the lives of people living with sight loss. Every moment of the day Guide Dogs is helping people get to where they want to be in life, and the awards evening is a truly inspiring occasion which reminds us of how life-changing our work is.”
The evening celebrated the life-changing work of Guide Dogs, while also raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity.
