Few people think about how much bus design impacts a person’s entire life. Here is a glimpse of the importance of including everyone in the design process and an example of how great design can work!
A slice of life: A bus driver lets on the other riders at a bus stop, but refuses to let the rider in a wheelchair aboard. Perhaps the bus is a model that has no ramp or perhaps the driver can’t find a clean curb cut, or perhaps the driver is trying to stay on time and doesn’t want the extra two minutes of helping the rider. Now the wheelchair dependent rider can’t keep a job, misses doctor appointments and can be left in freezing or raining weather alone and waiting. This happens every day across the world.
As our communities, priorities and budgets change, public transportation is suddenly appearing as a reasonable way to get to work or grocery shopping for some for the first time ever. Changing the way we design and make available public transportation now a life changing issue.
The short answer is this: without truly accessible public transportation, in the United States alone: tens of millions of people are home-bound. This is just one example of the power of “Design for Life”: a series of simple design decisions about the bus itself and the riders’ experiences, combined with commitment by local government makes the difference between whether a person can be independent or not.
See how good industrial design in transportation also impacts the use of fully sustainable lifestyles, like the ability to use your bike. The public bus system in Minneapolis, MN is a “best in class” example of what all buses could and should be. Here are some features you may have missed:
Sustainability The bus has a folding bike rack on the front. This means that those who want to help save the environment, save on the cost of gas, or get some extra exercise, can easily bike to the bus stop of their choice, and bike to their destination. With a region like the Twin Cities- with many bike paths and bike friendly parks built in close proximity- it also means that an avid biker can get to their favorite park or area using public transportation and then enjoy a great workout or great views. The front bike rack actually encourages people to use their bikes and public transit as it’s so convenient (in experience design think of trying to navigate a bike on a crowded bus!)
The photos is a screenshot courtesy of Chris Chavie’s blog of trails and maps for biking enthusiasts in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota.
Vision The route, destination and direction are all clearly marked on the top of the bus. Whether your glasses have gotten fogged or someone has developmental disabilities, this makes it easy to see and easier to navigate the public system. This type of industrial design means that more people have independence and can take the bus alone. (All you have to remember is that you take the “18A”, and you can find your way around the transit system.)
Hidden Accessibility Here’s how the bus works:
1. If you use the bus without accommodations, you may never notice the “magic” under your feet when your step into the bus. The ramp is built into every bus and left folded up when not needed.
2. The bus starts to lower when the driver activates the ramp function. It’s a smooth transition so that other riders are not impacted.
3. The ramp lifts upwards so that you see it’s actually folded into itself.
Ability to Reach Any Stop What most people do not realize is how unlikely it is for a commuter in any major city to take an entire excursion having a fixed, available and actually accessible “curb cuts” (the sections at the end of the curb that are lower to enable wheelchairs, bikes and strollers to get on and off of curbs).
- Many times sidewalks that have a curb cut on the beginning of the block end at the road without any curb cut in site (this means someone who is wheelchair or otherwise dependent on the curb cut has to turn around and go back the entire block to find another way to get to his destination.)
- Curb cuts are regularly blocked by built-in poles or piles of firewood or another items a retailer unloads and sells from their sidewalk.
- Many curb cuts are broken or have gaps over 1-3 inches, making it impossible for someone with a bad back to navigate the area at all.
- Finally, many people are forgetful at best, and rude at worst: parking in front of the curb cut on the side of the street, blocking curb cuts by not doing snow removal or actually shoveling snow off the sidewalk and onto the curb cut.
This design by the bus system eliminates the issue of whether or not an accessible bus can actually stop and pick up a passenger in need! (Now back to the steps of the ramp in motion….)
4. The ramp extends so that both the driver and the rider can see where it will “land.” This means that the rider can position him or herself to get up the necessarily narrow ramp (someone in a wheelchair needs 5 feet square to make a circular turn; a mother pushing a double stroller needs more!)
5. The ramp lands on the pavement for an even entry even if the surface underneath is not flat. With the way the ramp sits when fully extended, it means that the bus can pick travelers up even where there is no curb cut or even a clean and safe sidewalk area.
Kudos to Minneapolis for excellence in public transportation design!
Start looking and you will see both innovations and bloopers in the design of our public spaces. It can quite literally change the day or the life for a person or family.
