There are still real barriers for blind and partially sighted people as they go out and about, shopping, visiting friends and exploring our tourist attractions.
Finding out about the promotional offers to ensure you're getting a good deal can be impossible if you can't read posters and packaging. Enjoying our museums or stately homes can be a challenge without tactile information, a touch tour or audio guide to inspire you.
But there are great things happening. Online shopping can be made easier to use. Posters can be improved to make them easier to read. Staff training can be improved to ensure that the personal touch overcomes other barriers.
Can you help us?
We're working hard to offer services that help you to do more. We also have a team who consult directly with blind and partially sighted people. But we want to learn from you too.
Our new projects are focused on creating real and lasting improvements in the accessibility for shopping. We've also got special projects focusing on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games but these projects are developing quickly so call us if you want to be involved.
Key partners
Leisure and retail covers a lot of different organisations. We've worked with a range of companies from Boots to Westminster Abbey but we know we can do so much more with your help. Although we have a number of services that we've developed based on business customer need, we want to explore what you already do and how we can help you deliver more solutions to make a real difference to the lives of blind and partially sighted people.
Go! Shop
Go! Shop is a new RNIB project bringing blind and partially sighted people together with retail and transport companies to improve the shopping experience, from getting to the shops to paying for your goods.
We're using "customer journey mapping" to identify what's involved in the whole process of going shopping. The aim is to identify the most important parts of a journey, whether it's the attitude of staff in a shop or being able to tell which bus stop you want to get off at.
The information we collect on your views and ideas for solutions will be used to start discussions with companies across the UK to make sure we promote practical solutions to all the companies we talk to.
We've got a website set up for the project at www.rnib.org.uk/goshop and a message board with a lively discussion.
Contact us
If you'd like to work with us to help more people to access your services, then we'd love to hear from you.
RNIB Disability Access Services
Phone 01733 37 53 70