Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of audio-visual announcements by bus operators under the Bus Services Act 2017.

We recognise the importance of audible and visible route and destination information in helping disabled people and other passengers to use bus services with confidence. On 1^st October 2024 the first phase of the Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023 (“Accessible Information Regulations”) came into force, requiring vehicles first used on local services since October 2019 to comply. The majority of local services should be compliant by October 2026.

The most recent annual bus statistics indicate that 37.2% of buses in Great Britain incorporated audible and visible route and next stop information provision as at 31^st March 2024, but these statistics do not yet reflect the implementation of the Accessible Information Regulations.