Loading and Unloading Passengers, Stop Procedures, and Passenger Safety
Most passenger injuries happen at the curb. This domain tests boarding, alighting, securement of riders using mobility devices, and the checks that must be right before the wheels turn.
Boarding and standees
Stop with the door adjacent to the curb, set the parking brake, then open the door. Watch each rider board, count heads at boarding and alighting, and reconcile the numbers. A bus built for standees carries a 2-inch standee line on the floor; no rider may stand forward of it, and nothing may be carried in the aisle or the stairwell. Close the door and confirm the aisle is clear before releasing the brake.
Mobility devices
Under 49 CFR 37.165, a rider using a wheelchair may not be denied boarding when the lift works. Deploy the lift on level ground with the parking brake set; the rider boards facing inward. Secure the chair with a four-point tiedown, offer the lap and shoulder belt, and tug the straps to confirm they are tight. Stow the lift before moving.
At the stop
Announce stops as required by 37.167, permit service animals, and give riders time to reach a seat. Pull past the crosswalk into the stop zone rather than stopping in it. Watch for riders who stand early; a fall during braking is a preventable injury.
Worked example
A rider in a wheelchair boards. The driver secures the chair with four straps and skips the lap belt because the rider said it was uncomfortable. That is a failure: the belt must be offered and its offer documented, and the driver must physically verify each strap rather than assume the tiedown is tight.
Traps
Moving with the door open; letting a standee ride forward of the line; loading from the traffic side; forgetting the end-of-trip walk-through for sleeping passengers.