Loading, Unloading, and Securing Passengers
This domain tests whether you can move riders safely from curb to curb: where you stop, how you count, how you secure people and their property, and when it is safe to move the bus.
Core rules
- Stop only at a legal, safe point, out of the travel lane where possible. Set the parking brake before opening the door, and use four-way flashers where appropriate.
- Never let anyone board or leave a moving bus. Load and unload only with the bus stopped.
- Count passengers on and off. A head count at every stop is how a sleeping or missing rider is caught.
- Before moving, every rider must be seated or standing behind the standee line, and the aisle and exits must be clear.
- Assist elderly and disabled riders; give them time, use the kneeling feature if equipped, and never rush a person on stairs.
- Mobility devices: secure with a four-point tie-down attached to the frame, plus an occupant lap belt low across the pelvis and a shoulder belt where equipped. Lock the device's brakes.
- Baggage goes in racks or the baggage compartment and must never block the aisle, stepwell, or an exit. Hazardous materials are not carried on a passenger vehicle.
- Watch alighting passengers who may cross in front of the bus, and check mirrors before pulling away.
Worked example
A rider in a wheelchair boards at a downtown stop. The driver positions the chair in the securement area facing forward, attaches four straps to the frame (not the wheels or armrests), tightens them evenly, adds the lap belt low across the hips and the shoulder belt, sets the wheel locks, then confirms the aisle is clear before releasing the parking brake.
Traps that cost marks
Loading in a traffic lane; leaving the door open with the bus unattended; skipping the head count; letting a rider stand forward of the standee line 'just for one stop'; strapping a wheelchair by its wheels.