Buses with lifts
Buses equipped with a lift for loading and unloading wheelchairs are designed to offer easy access to bus services to passengers in wheelchairs. They are being introduced to facilitate social participation by the handicapped. While such buses are convenient for people in wheelchairs, they mean little to those who have difficulty using busses for other reasons. Therefore, in recent years the trend is toward non-step buses to offer easier access to the elderly and passengers with handicaps that do not require wheelchairs.
Non-step buses
Buses with low floors and no steps are being developed to ensure that the elderly and the handicapped can get on and off easily. The floor of a regular bus is about 90cm off the ground. The floors of non-step buses are as low as 30cm at one section or the entire length of a non-step bus. Some buses are equipped with a kneeling mechanism for further convenience. That is, the vehicle can be lowered when stopped. In Japan, the specifications for a non-step buses were created in 1996. Based on these specifications, a large non-step bus was developed and introduced into regular bus service in 1997. The Ministry of Transport subsidizes the introduction of non-step buses, which cater to wheelchair passengers as well by extending a ramp for easy boarding and disembarking. The non-step bus is attracting considerable attention as an alternative to buses equipped with lifts.
