28-07-2025
Voices of Bradford women to be used for bus announcements
The voices of three women from Bradford will be used for announcements on board the city's bus Kaali, Humaira Bham and Olivia Wright won the BBC's New Voices Bradford competition in May 2024Their pre-recorded information about routes and stops will be used by First buses during the UK City of Culture year. Ms Kaali said: "I'm really hoping that people will leave this year thinking, wow, we are just as valued, just as special, just as exciting and have so much to offer."
Ms Bham added: "I remember going to university and hearing some southern woman doing announcements on the bus, so its going to be really cool to hear a Bradfordian accent."The recordings were made in the BBC Radio Leeds studios. A total of 160 buses working on 35 routes will use operations director for West Yorkshire, Megan Hope, said: "The local accents give a genuine Bradford and Yorkshire touch to the announcements, which is a real change from the AI technology we normally use."
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