From Mary Smith at Walker:
Access Board Releases Draft Revisions to
Guidelines for Buses and Vans
The
Board is undertaking a review and update of its ADA Accessibility Guidelines for
Transportation Vehicles. Published in 1991, these guidelines cover a range of
vehicles, including buses and vans, rail cars, trams, and other modes of public
transportation. As part of this effort, the Board has released for public
comment draft revisions to sections of the guidelines covering access to buses
and vans.The released draft updates provisions that apply
generally to buses and vans and includes revisions that cover new or variant
forms of service, such as bus rapid transit. It includes changes to specifications for wheelchair and
other mobility aid space requirements, onboard accessible routes, vehicle lifts,
ramps, and bridgeplates, signs, stop announcement systems, and lighting. A
discussion provided with the draft text describes these changes.
In addition, the Board has included questions
seeking comment on minimum space requirements for mobility aids, widths of
onboard accessible routes, lift design loads, and specifications for seat belts
and shoulder harnesses. The deadline for comment is June 11, 2007.The revisions are based on the Board’s review of
the guidelines and input it received at an industry roundtable in January and
public meetings held last September and July. These events provided an
opportunity for the public, including disability groups, transportation
operators, vehicle manufacturers, and other interested stakeholders to identify
issues to address and provisions to revisit. Recently, the Board held a forum on
the released draft and this update effort at New Jersey’s TransAction 2007
Transportation Conference and Expo, in Atlantic City and received input on the
draft from attendees.Instructions for submitting comments are
included in a notice published in the Federal Register on April
11th. Both the draft and the notice are available on the Board’s
website at www.access-board.gov/vguidedraft.htm. Drafts covering other sections of the vehicle
guidelines will be released as they become available. For further information,
contact Dennis Cannon at cannon@access-board.gov, (202) 272-0015 (v), or (202) 272-0082
(TTY).
