The use of ramped wayside platforms for key site access to buses may address accessibility needs for transit systems in countries unable to afford more expensive technologies. In August 1990, tests of a prototype platform were conducted by the author in cooperation with the San Francisco municipal railway, to determine the feasibility of using raised ramped platforms for access by wheelchair users to buses. Access was provided by a small lightweight bridge attached to the platform and spanning the gap between the raised platform and the floors of two types of standard-size buses. Three disabled persons using standard and power wheelchairs successfully boarded buses with an average boarding time of around one minute. The key site platform concept for access to buses grew out of a decade of development of key site access to surface portions of San Francisco's light rail system. The use of a small bridge to board buses is a logical extension of the increasing use of such devices in connection with rail systems.
Abstract