What to Know About Retrofitting Accessibility Features
When customizing or retrofitting older buses or bus fleets, it is only your creativity and your budget that will limit you. There is no problem making older buses or fleets more accessible and mobility friendly and retrofitting what is needed for accessibility. In today’s blog article, we will talk about some of the considerations when retrofitting buses with accessibility features.
Accessible Features and Passengers
The first order of business is to determine roughly how many handicapped passengers you are wanting to accommodate and the size of the bus. Do you want permanently designated areas for wheelchairs or do you need, rather, regular seats that can be easily moved out of the way to accommodate an occasional wheelchair. In other words, how many of your passengers need these features and how often.
In general, making a bus more accessible means wider aisles, spaces to secure wheelchairs, and the ability for those with walkers or crutches to maneuver around and have safe spaces for their mobility equipment. There also needs to be seating for those able-bodied individuals who may be traveling with the person requiring better accessibility. Often buses with the best accessibility features carry the most passengers needing those features most often.
Features require allowing the securing of wheelchairs, and potentially stowing walkers or crutches if bus rides are long—as opposed to short-distance shuttle buses. What you will need to retrofit depends in part on whether trips are short or long.
Flooring
Flooring needs to be more non-slip and sturdy than usual. Handrails or grab bars should be thoughtfully placed. Support bars are used for getting through the bus and also for getting on and getting off the bus. Experts on accessible features should help you with your design.
Buses will need a low entry, a kneeling feature, and/or the availability of a wheelchair lift to enable easy boarding.
This is a complicated subject, and it would be worth your time to consult with professionals in retrofitting buses. We encourage you to contact us at our toll-free number (888) 416-9333 in Canada, and we can help you. This is our business and area of expertise, and we can help you customize your shuttle bus to meet your business needs.
Dynamic Specialty Vehicles has been supplying and servicing mid-sized buses for over 30 years. With long-term contracts with demanding clients like BC Ambulance and BC Transit, Dynamic Specialty Vehicles knows how to keep their clients safe and their buses running smoothly.
If you have any questions about this article or would like further information about buses and/or services, please call us on our Toll-Free number, (888) 416-9333.