Loading, Unloading, and Passenger Safety
What this domain tests
Capacity limits, securement of passengers and baggage, aisle and exit clearance, and safe boarding and alighting. The exam pairs rule knowledge with judgment questions about crowded buses.
Core rules
- Never carry more passengers than the bus is rated for. Standees are allowed only in a bus designed and permitted for them, and no passenger may stand forward of the standee line marked on the floor.
- Keep the aisle, stepwells, and exits clear at all times. Baggage goes in racks or the luggage compartment and must be secured; riders cannot block the aisle with carry-ons.
- Mobility devices: lock the wheelchair brakes, secure the device at the frame with a four-point tie-down, and use the lap and shoulder occupant restraint. The lift is operated only with the bus stopped and the parking brake set.
- Board and unload with the bus fully stopped, parking brake set, and doors operated deliberately. Count passengers when they board and again after they leave.
- Watch the hazard of passengers crossing in front of the bus after alighting; release them only when traffic and signals allow.
- Refuse hazardous materials, fueled equipment, and oversized items that cannot be secured.
Worked example
A 47-seat coach is loading for a charter. Two riders arrive with wheelchairs, and a third wants to keep a folded stroller beside her seat. The two wheelchair positions are legal: each chair is braked, tied down at four points, and the occupant is belted. The stroller cannot sit in the aisle; it goes in the luggage bay. The driver counts 45 seated plus 2 wheelchair users, which is within the rated capacity of 47, so no standees are taken.
Traps
Loading until the aisle is full and calling it capacity; securing only the wheelchair's wheels; operating the lift with the transmission in gear; skipping the re-count after unloading; letting a rider stand ahead of the standee line because the trip is short.
Unloading discipline
Set the brake before opening the door, watch the stepwell, and keep the door closed until the bus is fully stopped. Do not let passengers off on the traffic side of the bus where an alternate safe path exists.