Translink Public Transport Conveyance Manual

[tonyp]

I've just come across this excellent guidelines document on bus design for Queensland. It's from earlier this year and can be viewed by clicking on the pdf link under Public Transport Conveyance Manual:

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/business-ind ... re-manuals

Page 18 onwards deals with buses and there's a strong emphasis on co-design, that is, involvement of people who use public transport as passengers, which is quite radical for the Australian bus industry which seems to be run by people who never actually ride buses as passengers, let along considering passengers with mobility issues.

At this stage, the document is presented as design guidelines but I get the impression that it is intended as a mandatory standard that has to be met to get buses certified and registered by DoTMR. Two of the implications arising from the standards would be:

1. The end of single leaf doors with double leaf doors being the minimum standard for urban buses.
2. Stepless entry mandated for all doors, which would kill off any remaining high floor urban bus designs like the XDi.

Presumably existing buses in service would be grandfathered.

[385BUZ]

This makes alot of sense in 2 areas. Surfside scraping buying XDis and instead buying MANs. And BT putting dual leaf doors on new B8s

[ABS]

The Bustech VST still has a high floor so unless they change the floor layout they will have a schrinking market.