Accessibility

Increasingly in some countries, buses and coaches are designed with accessibility features, often in response to regulations and recommendations laid out in disability discrimination laws. While such access laws apply to public transport, accessible features are also often adopted by private operators as a customer service differentiator, or due to the accessible designs becoming the market standard for new buses and coaches.

Historically, accessible buses were specially modified standard buses, as mobility buses, produced by post manufacture, or niche manufacturers. Later, many standard bus types have become accessible, although mobility buses are still in production, usually as minibus-size vehicles. Mobility buses can be modified with a side or rear wheelchair lift, additional doors, wider doors, or an extendible access ramp. For standard buses, a major part of accessibility is achieved by the low-floor bus design, although for coaches, accessibility is being achieved through wheelchair lifts due to their higher floor level. Easier access for wheelchairs, pushchairs and the elderly can also be achieved through the use of kneeling air suspension and electrically or hydraulically extended under-floor ramps. Other accessibility features include wide entrances and interior gangways for wheelchairs and baby carriages; brightly colored interior fittings; and clear destination displays to aid the visually impaired.