Oxford Bus Group has teamed up with Guide Dogs UK to support a group of puppies that assist visually impaired passengers on public transport.

The initiative includes complimentary annual bus passes for use on all Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel, and Carousel Buses services.

These passes were presented to Guide Dogs UK during a recent visit to Oxford Bus Company’s depot in Cowley.

Volunteer puppy raisers who present their Guide Dog ID pass and have a puppy with them can access free travel (Image: Fortitude Communications) The passes will allow guide dog puppy raisers to travel for free on the operators’ bus services with trainee assistance dogs, helping to familiarise the dogs with public transport.

Volunteer puppy raisers who present their Guide Dog ID pass and have a puppy with them can now access free travel.

The charity’s staff puppy development officer, Mandy Jones, visited Oxford Bus Company’s Cowley House depot with puppy Voss.

They were accompanied by volunteer puppy raisers Brian and Sandra Stevenson, and their puppy Gwen, as well as Anna Flory with Buster.

During the visit, the puppies boarded a parked bus to help to build their confidence for future travel on a vehicle in service.

Puppies are trained from seven-weeks-old with basic obedience in various situations, including most forms of travel, to prepare them for supporting a visually impaired person.

Volunteer puppy raisers care for a guide dog from around eight-weeks-old, helping them to learn basic training until they are around 12 to 14-months-old and ready to go into advanced training.

Guide Dog UK’s puppy development officers and volunteers will visit Cowley House on a quarterly basis as part of its training programme.

Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Group’s 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 its launch in 1931.

It currently has more than 1,500 puppies in the care of volunteer puppy raisers.

It is the only organisation to breed and train guide dogs in the UK and its work is almost entirely funded by donations.

Haley Andrews, head of puppy raising for Guide Dogs UK, 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.

“We’re currently seeking more volunteer puppy raisers in Oxford and would encourage anyone who is interested to please get in touch.”