The transport solutions being made to help blind people in Rutland

A Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland sight loss charity is getting funding to tackle loneliness by improving transport.

Vista is one of 12 organisations chosen by the Department of Transport to receive a share of £5m - which will be used to help blind people better access taxis, buses and trains across the region.

It's part of a pilot project being run by the Government to reduce feelings of isolation in people that were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kate Naish is a director at Vista, she says the funding will help implement simple but effective changes like:

• Mailing everybody with sight loss in the local area with info on transport options available to them - provided in a format that's accessible like braille or audio.
• Using training videos to raise awareness with transport providers around the challenges that people with sight loss may face when accessing transport.
• Making a funding pot of £200,000 available to local transport hubs that can use the money to improve their own infrastructure to make them more accessible to people with sight loss.

The extremely isolating impact of the pandemic on blind people

When Covid restrictions had such an isolating effect on many of us, it's difficult to imagine how hard things might've been for those relying on touch to get by.

Kate Naish thinks the pandemic emphasised the need for better transport facilities for blind people:

'The pandemic was a real leveller for all of us, we all experienced what it was like to be isolated at home and to potentially feel lonely and I think the general public got an insight into something that affects other people every day', she said.

'Losing your sight can be an incredibly isolating experience. It can make people feel that they're not able to leave their house safely and during the pandemic it was exacerbated even further, particularly considering that people with sight loss often navigate by touch and so the concept of social distancing is very difficult.

'If you can't see where someone else is you cannot stay 2 metres away from them easily, and so that provided additional challenges.'

If there's anyone locally living with sight loss you can contact with Vista on 0116 249 8839 or visit the webpage**.**

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.

• lonliness
• mental health
• Blind
• transport
• funding