Catch me if you can: Traffic Management for Accessible Rural Bus Stops

by Natasha Brown and Nick Tyler

Abstract*

Once a symbol of declining rural services in the wake of rising car ownership and suburbanisation, the rural bus has been enjoying a renaissance in the UK. Nationally the Government's Rural Bus Subsidy Grant provides localauthorities £60M a year to support conventional services. To comlementthis, last year it launched the Rural Bus Challenge, an annual competitionfor innovative schemes, inviting appropriate bids from councils eager toreverse years of underfunding.

Last year the Challenge helped fund 46 schemes worth £11.4M, and as the Government begins to examine the hundreds of bids for the secondChallenge, it is worth asking where all this innovation is leading. Formany urban authorities the case for public transport has been as much aboutefficient use of road space. But while the Challenge will clearly indirectlyhelp disabled travellers, last year's competition included just three projectsbilled primarily as accessible bus projects (in East Sussex and two inSouth Yorkshire). As this report from a paper by Natasha Brown and NickTyler shows, the reason may be partly a lack of guidance for traffic managersto enable mainstream services to operate accessibly. In particular theyfocus on one of the main challenges facing rural bus services from theDisability Discrimination Act. Within the typical confines of a narrowcountry lane, where is it safe to stop buses on the highway so that disabledtravellers may board mainstream services? Based on research conducted inCumbria, they provide a simple procedure to help measure the factors affectingsafety and identify the best locations.

(*) abstract written by editorial staff at Traffic Engineering & Control

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