Making life easier for OMOs
Page 22
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
OMO lone-man operator) drivers will not bother to check tickets or travel passes if it requires any real effort. This is one of the findings of an extended survey into the working environment and ergonomic aspects of trucks, buses, taxis and special purpose vehicles leg site tippers and construction plant) undertaken by the Swedish Road Research Institute, VTI.
The environmental variables included in the investigation comprised climate and air quality; vibration, noise, infrasound, seat design and performance, driving cab and controls, visibility, lighting and drivers' duties apart from driving..
The main objective of the survey was to produce a set of criteria on which specifications may be based for the driver environment in different types of vehicles.
In the summary of the findings affecting psv drivers, it is pointed out that where the driver has to sell the tickets an improved layout of cash desks and better lighting are called for.
Fare indication and other control data on tickets is generally in print too small to t identified readily.
More functions could be automated, including the change of route number and destination signs at turnround points and terminals and the taped announcement of stops.
An associated report by VTI researchers examined cab conditions in buses during the winter months. This survey USE a mobile data-acquisition devic so that recordings could be obtained of air, surface and radiation temperatures, air speed, air humidity and frequency of door operation.
The programme was carried out in temperatures between —10°C and —23°C. The mean temperature in the driving cab was above +18°C in all cases. Where a bus had been standirm in a depot at temperatures around freezing point, up to 70 minutes passed before driving cab readings reached +18°C.
Further details of the reports may be obtained from the National Swedish Road and Traffic Research Institute-VTI S58101, Linkiiping, Sweden, quoting ref nos 225 and 264.