Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made on installing audio-visual announcements in buses.

There has been progress in increasing the number of vehicles on which audible and visible information is provided. Since 2016/17, the percentage of buses using an Audio-Visual information system to provide route, direction, next stop and diversion information to passengers has almost doubled, from 18% to 34% in 2020/21 across Great Britain. However, there is a large variation in usage by region.

At present there is no legal requirement for operators to provide audible and visible information or to maintain volume levels at a particular level. However, we plan to require the provision of audible and visible information on local bus and coach services across Great Britain, and intend to introduce the Accessible Information Regulations shortly. The Regulations will incorporate requirements to ensure that audible information can be heard by passengers.