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PASSENGER PROBLEMS ON MOVING BUSES BASED ON REPORTS BY LEYLAND VEHICLES LTD IN ASSOCIATION WITH MOTOR INDUSTRY RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

Phase II of the research on passenger problems on moving buses, undertaken by Leyland Truck and Bus under contract to the Transport and Road Research Laboratory, can be summarised under five headings. (1) Handholds. Various designs were developed and built into a mock-up entrance. A group of sixty elderly subjects assisted in evaluating these to select the most suitable shape, clearance and surface finish. The preferred design had a vertical and a sloping portion, the latter 1000 mm above foot level. Oval section tubes with a non-slip finish and a minimum hand clearance of 70 mm (to rail centreline) were indicated. (2) Going to and from the seat. Using a modified national bus, equipped with an adjustable floor, instrumented stanchions and acceleration measuring equipment, the reactions of standing passengers were studied. Acceleration levels as low as 0.15 g resulted in a force of up to 70 per cent of passenger body weight being reacted through the vertical stanchions. In the experiment young fit subjects were used for safety reasons but the implication of the results for elderly passengers are even greater. (3) In the seat. The definition of good or bad journeys as described by a journey quality index, is related to the distribution of rates of change of acceleration (jerk). Analysis shows that improvements in vehicle control could produce better bus journeys. A bad bus journey in the above terms was found to have jerk levels outside the range of +1.6 g sec-1 and -1.4 g sec-1. (4) Step height and retractable step. The entry and exit step height can be a critical feature and is closely linked with handrail design and location. A retractable step was built with a height of 185 mm. It improved the ease of use by young and elderly passengers and did not increase the wheel stop time in these trials. However its mechanical complexity and projection from the side of the vehicle present problems for service bus applications. Other means of achieving a lower entry step height may justify more detailed study. (5) Accidents. A study has been made of accident data over a period of 12 months supplied by 30 bus operators, and covering about 30000 vehicles in the UK. Fifty-six per cent of the passenger injuries were sustained in non-collision accidents and 43 per cent of these occurred to passengers who were estimated to be over 60 years of age. Other surveys show that elderly passengers average less than 20 per cent of all passengers carried. Reported accident rates for females over 60 years of age were higher than those for males in this age group. Boarding accidents formed an especially significant proportion of accidents to the elderly and gangway accidents were a special risk for female passengers of all ages. The data available did not permit the effect of vehicle layout and furnishing to be clearly related to accidents.

  • Corporate Authors:

    Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)

    Wokingham, Berkshire  United Kingdom 
  • Publication Date: 1980

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 96 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00322069
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
  • Report/Paper Numbers: TRRLSR520 Monograph
  • Files: ITRD, TRIS
  • Created Date: Jan 19 1981 12:00AM