Curbside Loading on a Narrow Boston Street
At 5:20 p.m. on a wet Friday, you are driving a 40-foot transit bus on a crosstown route through Boston. You stop in the travel lane on a narrow two-way street because a delivery truck occupies the only loading zone. Thirty-eight passengers are on board, including a wheelchair user who wants to exit at this stop. The curb is 14 inches high and the sidewalk is crowded. As you set the parking brake, you see a passenger standing in the aisle near the rear door and a roller bag protruding into the aisle from the luggage rack. A cyclist is passing on your right. The wheelchair ramp deploys toward the curb, but the landing area is partly blocked by a sandwich board sign. Your schedule is already 12 minutes behind.
1. How should you manage this stop given the blocked ramp landing, the cyclist, and the schedule pressure?
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Do not deploy the ramp into a blocked landing just to save time. First hold the bus at the stop with the parking brake set and the door closed until the cyclist clears and you have checked the right mirror. Use the PA to ask the business or a passenger to move the sandwich board, or if no one can move it, choose the next safe stop with a usable landing. A 14-inch curb and crowded sidewalk increase the risk of a wheelchair tipping or a passenger stepping into traffic. Schedule pressure is not a reason to create an unsafe boarding or alighting point. If you must relocate, announce the change clearly and give the wheelchair user time to prepare. Do not leave the driver's seat to move the sign unless the bus is secured and it is safe to do so; in most cases, moving to a safer stop is the better judgment call.
2. What must be true before you move the bus with the wheelchair passenger and the standee aboard?
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Before moving, the wheelchair must be secured with a four-point tie-down and the passenger must have a lap and shoulder belt in place, following the manufacturer's securement procedure. The ramp must be stowed and the door closed. The standee must either sit or hold a secure handhold; if the bus is at or over its capacity plate, no additional standees may be carried. The roller bag must be moved out of the aisle and stowed so it cannot slide into an exit or trip a passenger. The aisle and rear exit path must be clear. Only then should you release the parking brake, check mirrors, signal, and merge. If the wheelchair user cannot be secured properly or the aisle cannot be cleared, do not move; resolve the condition or call dispatch for assistance.