I am afraid I find this a most appalling cop-out!
We are not talking about trying to make old vehicles accessible but the
design of new vehicles and I think wheelchair users have waited quite long
enough for the bus! Equal access to something as basic as public transport
is a human right and should not be at the whim of vehicle manufacturers.
These vehicles once in service will not be replaced for many years and even
though those in cities will have shorter lives they will then be used for
another few years in rural areas; extending the time that disabled people
have to wait!
I find these figures completely unacceptable.
Vin West
Secretary, Arfon Access Group
Glyn Dwr
Llandwrog Uchaf
Caernarfon
Gwynedd
LL54 7RA
Tel: 01286880761
Mob:
Fax: 0017756652884
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Monk" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 2:30 PM
Subject: Re: buses angles and slopes
Mary the specs were very closely considered by organisations such as DIPTAC,
Access Association and JMU. Accessible kneeling buses are designed to work
with ordinary kerbs and the lowest possible height a bus can "kneel" down
to. The arithmetic does not allow normal gradient guidelines to be achieved
except where boarder kerbs can be put in.
Peter Monk
Access Officer
-----Original Message-----
From: Gwynne, Mary [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 01 April 2004 11:35
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: buses angles and slopes
I have been looking at the bus regulations and could not believe that the
angles they are referring to for ramps are so steep.
(c) with the vehicle on a flat surface, in the normal condition for
a wheelchair user to board or alight, and with the boarding ramp extended
and sitting on a kerb of 125mm in height measured vertically from and
parallel to the ground, the surface of a boarding ramp shall have a slope
measured over the surface referred to in sub-paragraph (3)(a) of not more
than 7° ( amended to 8) measured relative to the ground;
> (d) notwithstanding (c) above, a boarding ramp may have -
>
> (i) at the intersection of the surface of the kerb and the
> surface of the ramp described above, a slope not exceeding 15° relative to
> the ground over a distance of not more than 150mm (measured along the
> surface of the ramp and parallel to the direction of travel of a reference
> wheelchair when it is moved from the kerb and onto the ramp surface), and
>
> (ii) at any other point a slope not exceeding 15° relative
> to the ground over a distance of not more than 150mm (measured along the
> surface of the ramp and parallel to the direction of travel of a reference
> wheelchair when it is moved into the vehicle) and rising to a height of
> not more than 15mm (measured above and parallel to the surface of the ramp
> or its sections);
>
> (e) with the vehicle on a flat surface and in the normal condition
> for a wheelchair user to board or alight, the boarding ramp shall be
> capable of being extended to and of sitting on that surface and in this
> position the surface of a boarding ramp shall have a slope of not more
> than 20° measured over the surface referred to in sub-paragraph (3)(a);
>
>
It means that the ramp on a pavement of 125mm at 8 degrees will be 1 in 7!
> This is much too steep for independent access.
> In section (e) it refers to the ramp to the ground being 20 degrees which
> translates into to approx. 1 in 2 which is nearly vertical and impossible
> for access
I though that I was working it out incorrectly, as my geometry and
tan tables is not very good or maybe they had made a mistake typing
degrees instead of % , so I phoned the Department.
They assured me that it was degrees and that drivers could assist if
the ramp was too steep.
I would not fancy pushing someone up a 1 in 2 slope. Would that be a
manual handling situation?
So in reality we are not going to have accessible buses unless there
is a high kerb. We will not be able to put high kerbs everywhere, especially
on narrow roads on rural routes.
Surely they can design a more accessible bus? Are there more
accessible ones in other countries?
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