Designing BUS DOORWAYS
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to Meet Modern Requirements
As it is Intimated in this Article, the Speeding-up of Entry and Exit by Passengers is Vital in the Operation of an Efficient and Rapid Motorbus Service
PHE rear side entrance is fitted to at least 50 per cent, of the larger patterns of single-deck bus or !oach, either as the only doorway, or in conjunction vith another close to the front bulkhead.
The rear entrance may be provided with a single loor opening outwards against the rear bulkhead. It uts the merit of simplicity, but the near-side portion of he bulkhead must be at least as wide as the doorway. Chis is a disadvantage, because this part of the bulklead has to project inwards considerably and tends to .estriet the width of the central gangway at the rear.
A pair of doors opening outwards, right and left, toes not have this effect. The entrance may be 2 ft. 10 ins. or 3 ft. wide and sloping commode handles may ie arranged to afford a convenient hand-hold when he doors are open.
When either type of door is closed the step is still xposed, but, in view of the fact that many rear-entrance dngle-deckers are doorless, like the double-decker, tliN nay not be considered a drawback.
The Usefulness of the Doorless Entrance.
The doorless entrance has proved to be efficient as a ,ime-saver and, when it is fully vestibuled, the pasiengers should suffer no discomfort owing to draughts* aadverse weather conditions. This kind of entrance nay have the step exposed on only the near side, or he vestibule *may be recessed and the back of the tep made accessible. The latter type, .doubtless, saves ime, and facilitates entry and exit while the vehicle is n motion, for which reason it may be regarded as less afe than the other pattern.
If, however, the vestibule be the same width as the nain saloon, loading and unloading may be speeded pp if the entrance be wide and the number of seats provided on the rear platform be reduced to a minimum.
c28 The best arrangement is to have no seats on the platform and to make the opening in the rear bulkhead as wide as possible. The chassis designed for the mounting of a double-deck body is often cranked behind the rear axle, so that the floor of the platform is low, enough not to require an outer step. As this type of platform has been found of value for the double-decker it should be ideal for a large single-decker on busy routes.
If the rear entrance is to be designed on lines similar to those of a front one, with a mechanically operated door, the door will be of the folding pattern and close on the front edge of the step. As there will be a longitudinal seat on the near side, against the rear bulkhead, it will be more convenient if the door folds towards the back of the bus and the operating gear be attached to the side of the body, behind the entrance. Here there may be a partition slotted for the passage of the rod, one end of which is attached to the rear half of the door, or a rail is mounted waist high. Either method of construction forms a protection to the rear edge of the step well. A commode handle should be fastened to the rear bulkhead and to the inside of the trailing half of the folding door.
The mechanically operated rear door is intended to he tinder the control of the conductor. He may find it an advantage occasionally to close the door in order to signify that the vehicle 18 full. A rear entrance may be controlled from the driver's seat, but this complication is considered unnecessary.
Owing to the. rapid development which has taken place in the design of the double-decker more attention has been devoted to devising means for exit from the lower saloon, other than at the rear. There may be upper-saloon emergency exits, but if there be a special exit to the lower saloon, then the rear entrance at the foot of the staircase is less likely to be congested by the lower-saloon passengers, if they have another means for escape.
A type of exit that is suitable either for a single or double-decker consists of a front door opening outwards on the off side. If the first two rows of off-side crosswise seats face one another access to it is made easier. A normal transverse gangway between opposing seats is about 1 ft, 8 ins, wide, which will be large enough without the necessity of hinging the seats, although this may be done as an additional precaution.
If the seats face forwards in the usual manner, such a door may, in conjunction with a sliding door in the bulkhead, also be used by the driver as an entrance to a forward-control cabin. Alternatively, the bulkhead may have an opening in it between the cab-side and the driver's seat, the bulkhead door being omitted.
An Original Idea for Facilitating Exit.
Another style of off-side exit may, at terminal points, be used for increasing the rate of emptying the bus. In this instance there is a door on the off side of the rear platform. The door opens inwards and may be of any pattern, such as already described, for use on the near side.
At the end of the journey the bus draws up beside' the kerb at a point where a set of rails is fixed in the roadway, about 9 ft. from the pavement. These rails are provided so that passengers are protected from passing traffic as they alight from the off side.
The driver, would know by the relation of an nuli. cator or post on the kerb with the front of his vehicle whether he had stopped at the right spot, in order to provide the necessary clearance between the rails and the back of the bus„ The conductor directs the outgoing passengers.