Use of Rear-Facing Position for Common Wheelchairs on Transit Buses (2003)

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USE OF REAR-FACING POSITION FOR COMMON WHEELCHAIRS ON TRANSIT BUSES SUMMARY The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 introduced a new era for enhancing the lives of persons with disabilities, in particular by facilitating improved integration and ac- cess to facilities and services, including public transportation. To enact provisions mandated by the ADA, the Architectural and Transportation Barrier Compliance Board has issued guidelines, which have been implemented through U.S.DOT regulations. One of the issues covered by these guidelines and regulations concerns the securement of wheelchairs on board transit buses. The ADA securement standard was developed based on experience with smaller vehicles (e.g., van conversions) and school buses, and has resulted in a complex system typically in- volving four separate securement straps plus occupant restraint belts. Although secure in de- sign when properly used, this system has raised a number of practical challenges for transit systems, as well as for wheelchair users on board transit buses. • Assistance is required to secure the wheelchair and, if requested, to fasten the occupant restraint. The wheelchair passenger is the only passenger who may be wearing a seat or shoulder belt. • Operator–passenger physical contact is also a sensitive issue, which can result in dis- comfort for both parties and that is sometimes perceived as a degrading experience by wheelchair passengers. • The system is not readily adaptable to the wide range of wheelchairs in use, in particu- lar scooters. Extra straps are required, thus increasing the complexity of the secure- ment process, and a growing number of wheelchairs cannot be accommodated at all because of the lack of designated attachment points and/or risk of damage to the mo- bility aid. • The straps are difficult to keep clean and properly store; they can soil clothes and, in some cases, cannot be found for use, thus decreasing the integrity of the system. Be- cause they hang loose, the straps can also be a hazard to other passengers. • Securing a wheelchair is time consuming, disrupting schedules and sometimes causing embarrassment to the wheelchair passenger because the other passengers must wait. • Securement is often physically demanding for the bus operator and can involve the risk of employee injury. • Finally, in conventional transit systems, the infrequent use of strap systems and the wide range of wheelchair designs may result in incorrect securement practices. Safety could be compromised if the securement system is not actually, or is improperly, used. To address some of these challenges, efforts have been undertaken over the last decade to develop universal securement systems. These designs, however, sometimes introduce new concerns. Therefore, solutions remain generally elusive given the number of wheelchair de- sign types and stakeholders, the diversity of interests, the lack of standards for wheelchairs and docking securement systems, and the need to modify the wheelchairs or scooters to adapt to the securement systems.

2 An alternative approach, using a rear-facing position, was initially deployed in Germany and the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, and now has been widely deployed across Europe, in several transit systems in Canada, and most recently in Australia. The rear-facing position concept enables persons using mobility aids to position themselves independently within an accessible urban transit bus, with their back and head near a load-bearing panel. This approach uses the vehicle’s mass and operating dynamics to protect passengers who use wheelchairs in cases of severe braking or collisions. It provides independence to the wheelchair passenger, adapts to most wheelchair and scooter sizes and types, does not gen- erally require the assistance of the operator, and requires shorter dwell times. The objective of this synthesis of transit practice is therefore to survey current practice with respect to the use of the rear-facing position for wheelchairs on transit buses and to identify pertinent issues related to its transferability to the U.S. context, in particular with respect to the ADA and to its use in Bus Rapid Transit systems. The synthesis includes a re- view of literature from many sources and countries, a survey of each of the Canadian transit systems that have adopted the rear-facing system, case studies, and interviews with experts in several countries. The synthesis found that during the last decade, the rear-facing approach to accommodat- ing wheelchairs on large transit buses has progressed from its use in a few leader transit sys- tems to widespread adoption by an ever-growing number of transit systems around the world, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Austria, Spain, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, and Australia. Such adoption is being accompanied, or in some cases spurred on, by the inclusion and definition of this approach in legislation, regulations, and standards. The following design elements have been observed among Canadian and European tran- sit systems that have adopted the rear-facing position: • An accessible path from the service door to the wheelchair position; • For rear-facing positions accessed through the front door, enough floor space to allow for backing into the position and doing a 180˚ turn when exiting (including floor space under seats overlapping the mobility aid’s maneuvering space); • For rear-facing positions accessed through mid doors, enough floor space to allow for turning 90˚ and backing into the position, and then doing a 90˚ turn when exiting (in- cluding floor space under seats overlapping the mobility aid’s maneuvering space); • A designated floor space (although dimensions vary); • A load-bearing back panel that allows the passenger’s back to be near the back panel, which requires that wheelchair wheels and handlebars be able to straddle the backrest (although dimensions and design characteristics with respect to deceleration forces vary); • A vertical aisle stanchion, wall-mounted lateral straps, or other means to prevent the wheelchair scooter from sliding or tipping into the aisle; • A horizontal handrail along the bus wall; • A stop request button with a separate signal displayed at the operator’s workstation; • A visual stop display that can be seen by the wheelchair passenger; and • A process for consulting with users, through advisory committee or focus groups, be- fore adoption of this approach. These consultations have helped to identify a number of benefits derived from the rear- facing position, as expressed by transit systems using this approach. Benefits for the wheel- chair passenger include:

3 • Independent and dignified use of the system, without, for most wheelchair passengers, the need for assistance by others; • Faster boarding and alighting; • Reduced need for physical contact with other persons; • Adaptation to the most commonly used wheelchairs and scooters, and even some less common types of wheelchairs, without the need for attachment points; and • Less damage to the mobility aid from the securement system. Benefits for the transit system include • Reduced dwell times at stops; • No or limited involvement of bus operators and, correspondingly, a lesser likelihood that bus operators will be injured or be placed in awkward working positions; and • Reduced maintenance costs. A preliminary review of ADA requirements indicates that the rear-facing position can be used by U.S. transit systems, provided that certain conditions are met. However, further study should be conducted concerning the specific system design based on transit system experience and accounting for future research concerning dynamic forces, appropriate design requirements, and effective system designs. The identified benefits associated with the rear-facing position clearly make this ap- proach particularly attractive to transit systems implementing Bus Rapid Transit systems, given their requirements for short dwell times; high-frequency, large-capacity vehicles oper- ating in tight corridors; and expectations of high levels of service reliability.