GREATER Anglia is offering free braille stickers for visually impaired customers’ smartcards ahead of World Braille Day on January 4.

The clear braille stickers can be applied to Greater Anglia smartcards and allows customers, including those who have sight difficulties, to differentiate between cards in their wallets.

The stickers, which have ‘GA’ in embossed braille, will be available from all Greater Anglia ticket offices, where staff can both offer the sticker and append it to the card on behalf of the customers.

Customers can also request to receive a sticker through the post via the Greater Anglia Contact Centre or Business Travel team.

Rebecca Richardson, accessibility and inclusion Manager, Greater Anglia, said: “It is important that we tackle all barriers which make rail travel difficult for disabled people. 

“These stickers will enable braille readers to differentiate their Greater Anglia smartcard from other cards but also serve as a useful tactile identifier for people with sight loss who do not read braille.

“We have a large number of smartcards already in circulation and this is a sensible, green initiative to continue to use those rather than reissue a fresh card.

“This initiative was developed with the guidance of one of our Accessibility Panel members with lived experience of sight loss and we thank him for his help, which we hope will make a difference.”

Kamelia Jones, Senior Retail Systems and Digital Manager, Greater Anglia, said: “We are pleased to continue to iterate and improve our smart ticketing offer for all our customers.

“We hope that this added feature will allow customers to differentiate their various cards with ease and make it that much more convenient when travelling."

French educator Louis Braille, for whom Braille is named, was born on January 4, 1809.

The 200th anniversary celebration of his birth in 2009 later evolved into World Braille Day.

In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly decided to make this an official observance by proclaiming January 4 as World Braille Day.

The first official World Braille Day celebration took place in 2019, the occasion being intended to celebrate Braille's importance as form of communication.