Help handicapped people plea by DoE
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• A plea to bus operators and manufacturers to help handicapped and disabled travellers is contained in a circular issued this week by the Department of the Environment. The circular points out that there are 1+ million disabled people in Britain, many of whom need to use public transport. By bearing in mind their special needs during design stages costs can be kept to a minimum.
On step heights the circular says that the layout of steps is governed to a large extent by bus grant requirements for floor heights at the front axle. This results in the psv regulation for step heights between 10in. and 17in. from the ground. Most manufacturers opt for about 15in. In future the specifications are to be amended so that floor height is expressed as a maximum. As a long-term objective it is hoped to stipulate the lowest step height possible.
Also on steps, the circular says that current research by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory in conjunction with British Leyland will look into the feasibility of folding or retracting steps. Experiments in the United States are also being studied and the DoE will amend the bus grant regulations in the light of the results.
Operators are asked to do all they can to ensure that buses pull up close to the kerb wherever possible.
The circular goes on to suggest that vertical grab rails are more useful than horizontal ones and access to bells is also important to people with limited reach. Bus operators might be able to make minor modifications to their vehicles to help in these respects. On fare collection, the circular says that prepaid tickets are preferable for disabled people who find waiting in the entrance area on a one-man bus uncomfortable. All operators are asked to consider providing priority seating for disabled passengers on buses.
The circular is being issued to trade associations, bus operators and vehicle manufacturers. Called The disabled traveller on public transport it is also available from HMSO, price 8p.