Community Bus Transportation: An Emerging Transit Mode
By Hunter-Zaworski, Katherine; TRANSED 2007 - 11th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons,Publication Date: 2007
Study of Community Bus Transportation, a public-transport mode using smaller vehicles than traditional mainline service, usually with a seating capacity of less than 20 seats. Community buses operate in suburban and semiurban areas and provide links to mainline or trunk-line transit service. Routes are generally flexible. For many seniors, community bus is a life line to independence. The study, which focuses on the vehicles operated by Translink’s Community Shuttle service in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, documents the need for new vehicle specifications to improve access for older travelers and those with disabilities. Vehicle design elements that insure the safety of all passengers are identified, e.g., safe stair geometry, strategically placed stanchions, hand rails, and grab bars, good illumination, slip-resistant flooring, and wide aisles accommodating transportable mobility aids. Advantages of both high- and low-floor vehicles are discussed. The study concludes that, inasmuch as Community Transportation is an emerging, essential transit mode for an aging society, there is a need for the development of new, robust multipurpose transportation vehicles with heavy-duty service life.
Published by: Transport Canada (Website:http://www.tc.gc.ca)
Link to text: http://ncat.oregonstate.edu/pubs/TRANSED/1097_Community_Transportation.pdf
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number O16935
