TORONTO — The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) announced the publication of a standard developed to provide voluntary requirements for activity buses.

Activity buses are intended to be used as a safer alternative to other vehicles, such as vans, that are not classified as a school bus but still used to transport groups of school-aged passengers to sporting events, community activities or other such trips.

CSA D270 Multi-Functional Activity Buses (MFAB) includes construction standards, such as joint strength, crashworthiness, rollover protection, emergency exits and compartmentalization.

However, the new standard does not include requirements for traffic- and pedestrian-control devices, such as warning lamps or stop arms, as these buses are not to be used for roadside pick-up and drop-off of passengers.

CSA first proposed the activity buses standard in 2006 due to increasing use of non-conforming vehicles, or those not classified or tested to school bus standards, for the transportation of students for school-related activities in Canada.

Adoption and enforcement of the standard will be at the discretion of provincial governments. In addition, interested manufacturers will be able to generate test data to support a self-declaration that their vehicles meet the activity buses standard. The vehicles could then be subject to inspection by regulators that recognize the MFAB vehicle class to ensure they comply with any relevant legislation.

For more information, visit www.csa.ca.