Ambulant disabled persons using buses: experiments with entrances and seats

This paper describes research work carried out in Sweden to adapt buses to the requirements of ambulant disabled people. It contains an experimental study where subjects tried different entrances and seats. For the experiments a bus was rebuilt and equipped with new entrance and seating arrangements. Three categories of subjects participated: seriously ambulant disabled, representing people having severe ambulatory difficulties in their daily life; less seriously ambulant disabled, representing people that normally travel with the special transportation service; and slightly ambulant disabled, representing ordinary elderly people. The evaluation was based on observations, photographs, interviews and in some cases timing with a stopwatch. The results show that low similar steps and well-designed handrails in the bus entrance made boarding and alighting easier. The seat trials showed the importance of having suitable grab rails to allow people to pull or heave themselves up. Design requirements are presented in the paper. The Swedish Board of Transport have used the results when working out regulations to adapt public transport vehicles for use by disabled people.