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kd4jfd
Top Member
USA
1168 Posts |
 Posted - 09/30/2018 : 5:37:39 PM
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If you were given the authority to specify where (front, center or rear) on the bus that the lift was to be installed, where would you want it and why?
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Thomasbus24
Administrator
USA
4544 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2018 : 08:15:55 AM
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I prefer them in the rear of the bus to maximize the overall capacity of the bus.
Here, if there are W/C positions in a bus, there must be a wide aisle to an emergency door. With about 95% of sales in my state being Conventional or FE transit, that means the back door...and that means mostly 30" or so seats if you put the chair up front or in the middle. Rear lift = 39" seats for most of the bus.
NOW...a front lift and chair positions would be ideal if you were a 1-person show with no bus aide to keep tabs on the kiddos. |
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Kodie
Top Member
United States
2028 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2018 : 6:34:13 PM
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| I prefer forward/center - 2 windows between the service door and the lift. This allows the driver to look over their shoulder without the lift obstructing their view when turning,, and also keeps it from being bounced around behind the rear axle. I don't like the idea of forcing students in wheelchairs to be at the back of the bus either, though I recognize that in some applications it just has to be that way or works better based on state spec. |
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exmod110
Senior Member
150 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2018 : 05:52:26 AM
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| We have transported a teacher in a wheel chair to PD days in a rear lift bus. His comments were "I am not riding in the back of that bus again" (76 pass with out wheel chair mods) The ride was rough and uncomfortable, as we all know the back of a bus is. Due to the nature of some disabilities, the unneeded pounding they get riding in the back of the bus we have gone to front or mid loading to position the chair in the best riding area of the bus, between the front and rear axles. It does reduce overall seating capacity but the passengers comfort is more important in this case as they can not choose where they are seated. |
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Sherm
Top Member
USA
621 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2018 : 07:35:22 AM
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| We use the rear lift to maximize student capacity. This is a must given budget constraints because it makes the bus usable on any type of route. It is a pain to operate without a bus aide. We spec rear air-ride on the lift buses and that seems to make the ride more reasonable for passengers. In a perfect world, the lift would be mid-ship in my opinion. |
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Gini
Top Member
USA
1249 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2018 : 02:42:20 AM
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| as Kodie said, the lift should be at least 2 windows behind front door, so you can see. however, if you get a lot of snow, & have a lot of back roads, i liked having the weight of the lift in the back. as to how bouncy the ride was, it depended on the size of the bus more than where the lift was; & the school.sys sometimes had combo seats, tiny on one side, larger on the other side to keep options open for wheelchair placement. |
1Peter 1:3 |
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Thomasbus24
Administrator
USA
4544 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2018 : 03:29:20 AM
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| My goodness it's been while. Nice to hear from you again Gini! |
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Gini
Top Member
USA
1249 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2018 : 9:01:16 PM
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| thanks, yeah, sorry, being retired has allowed me to be lazy! that accident in IN shocked me into stopping by to post. hope everyone is doing as well as possible! |
1Peter 1:3 |
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Topic |
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Lift placement
