Oxford Bus Group give blind volunteer training a boost

Oxford Bus Group has partnered with national charity Guide Dogs UK to offer volunteer Guide Dog puppy raisers free travel on its services.

The partnership provides support for a specialist training programme of puppies that help visually impaired passengers on public transport.

Complimentary annual bus passes for use on all Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel and Carousel Buses services were presented to Guide Dogs UK during a recent visit to the company's depot premises in Cowley. It will enable volunteer guide dog puppy raisers from the charity to travel free on the operators’ bus services with trainee-assistance-dogs to familiarise the hounds with public transport.

It comes after Pulhams Coaches, part of the Oxford Bus Group, partnered with the charity earlier this year.

The charity’s staff puppy development officer Mandy Jones visited Oxford Bus Company’s Cowley House depot with puppy Voss. They were joined by volunteer puppy raisers Brian and Sandra Stevenson and their puppy Gwen and Anna Flory with Buster. During the visit the puppies boarded a parked bus to help build their confidence ahead of going onto a vehicle in service.

Puppies are trained from seven-weeks of age until they are one with basic obedience in a variety of situations, including most forms of travel to prepare them for supporting a visually impaired person. Volunteer puppy raisers take care of a guide dog from round right weeks of age, helping them learn all their basic training until they are around 12 to 14 months old and ready to go into advanced training.     

As part of the partnership the charity’s puppy development officers and volunteers will visit Cowley House on a quarterly basis as part of its training programme. Volunteer puppy raisers who present their Guide Dog ID pass and have a puppy with them can access free travel, with the offer in place with immediate effect.

Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Group Managing Director said: “We’re committed to making buses accessible for everyone and are always looking at ways to achieve this and improve our services. We’ve worked with Guide Dogs for some years now, and are proud to support them to help deliver such an invaluable service to people with visual impairments.”

Guide Dogs UK has matched 36,000 people with a guide dog since the charity’s launch in 1931. Today, the charity currently has over 1,500 puppies in the care of volunteer puppy raisers. It is the only organisation to breed and train guide dogs in the UK with its work almost entirely funded by donations.

Haley Andrews, Head of Puppy Raising for Guide Dogs said: “We’re extremely grateful to Oxford Bus Group for offering free travel to our volunteers, meaning our dogs can gain experiences around public transport and continue to learn about the world around them.

“Our volunteer puppy raisers work hard to get our puppies used to all the experiences they may face as a working guide dog. Learning to travel on a bus calmly and confidently is an important part of any guide dogs’ training, helping to prepare them for their future role as a life-changing guide. We’re currently seeking more volunteer puppy raisers in Oxford and would encourage anyone who is interested to please get in touch.”

All puppies trained by Guide Dogs UK follow a comprehensive curriculum that includes learning 37 key behaviours, taught through marker training. This curriculum helps them develop into confident, obedient companions who remain focused and prevent any public distractions or interruptions while wearing their harness uniform in public transport settings.

Oxford Bus Group is a portfolio of operating companies owned by the Go-Ahead Group which consists of Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel, Carousel Buses, Pulhams Coaches and City Sightseeing Oxford.