Bedfordshire SLC continues its work with Luton Rising
Bedfordshire Sight Loss Council (SLC) is continuing its work with Luton Rising on the accessibility of the newly launched Luton DART shuttle service. The Luton DART will enable you to get on a train at London St Pancras Station to arrive at London Luton Airport (LLA) terminal in just 30 minutes.
Last month Ethos Farm staff, who provide customer care at Luton DART, came together for a SLC vision awareness session. The aim was to learn how they can best support blind and partially sighted (BPS) travellers.
The session started with an overview of living with sight loss. Attendees learned how this can affect day-to-day life and the potential impact this may have when travelling. Members from Bedfordshire SLC shared their own lived experience and provided examples of good and bad practice they’ve encountered.
Attendees then learned about various eye conditions, how to communicate effectively and received sighted-guide training.
Staff were positive and engaged throughout the session, participating in a ‘Facts and Stats’ quiz. They then worked as a group on a ‘Barriers and Challenges’ problem-solving scenario.
Ethos Farm staff participating in the sighted guide training
Feedback from the session
Stefan Crocker, Bedfordshire SLC member, said; :
“It was fantastic to meet and deliver this vision awareness session to such enthusiastic participants. It was a great success and integral to advancing independent travel for those living with sight loss.”
Samantha Leftwich, Engagement Manager for the South East, said:
“We were delighted to deliver two vision awareness sessions to Ethos Farm staff. They were engaged and asked lots of questions, sharing their thoughts on how they can make the customer experience better.
“Working together to make Luton DART more accessible to blind and partially sighted people has been an integral part of our work. We look forward to continuing this work to ensure blind and partially sighted people can travel with confidence.”
We would like to extend thank everyone who attended the session and for their active participation.
Bedfordshire SLC will continue to work with Ethos Farm, Luton Rising, and staff at Luton DART to ensure the service remains accessible to BPS passengers. We look forward to discussions on how this training can be implemented into the onboarding process moving forward.
Samantha Leftwich, Engagement Manager for South East, delivering the vision awareness session to Ethos Farm staff
Read more about our previous work with Luton Rising
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Bedfordshire Sight Loss Council is looking for new members. If you are blind and partially sighted, live in Bedfordshire, and want to improve services for visually impaired people in your area, we want to hear from you.
You’ll get the opportunity to create positive change for others, meet like-minded people, have a voice, feel valued, receive training and learn or enhance your skills. Whether you’re interested in public speaking or honing your social media skills, there’s something for everyone to get involved in.
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Publication date: 18 April 2023