Accessibility: lift, ramp and wheelchair users

Disability awareness training is a compulsory part of driver training: disability awareness is part of the syllabus of the initial qualification (Executive Order 412/2025 annex 1, item 3.8), and for regular services the bus company must ensure that its drivers have received disability-related training (Regulation (EU) 181/2011 art. 16). It gives you knowledge and practice in transporting passengers with a mobility or sensory impairment in a safe, dignified and respectful way.

• 01Manual fold ramp: sloped plate laid out from the bus floor level to the sidewalk. Light and quick but requires the sidewalk and bus floor to have an appropriate height difference.
• 02Electric lift: platform that lowers from the bus floor to road level. Can handle all level differences; requires more space and regular servicing.
• 03Always check lift/ramp during departure check — a failing lift at stop is not just annoying, it can prevent a passenger from getting off.

• 014-point lashing system: two belt clips in front and two at the back of the wheelchair frame — never on the wheels.
• 02Passenger belt: separate belt around the passenger's body (shoulder + pelvis) — the wheelchair's own belt is not sufficient.
• 03Check that lashings are tight and clips clicked in before the bus moves.
• 04The wheelchair shall stand with its back to the direction of travel in the wheelchair spaces designed for it — check the bus documentation.

• 01Always ask the passenger what they need – do not assume what they can and cannot do.
• 02Take your time — rushed boarding times are the cause of many accidents.
• 03Use eye contact and turned body language; passengers with visual impairment are guided with verbal instructions.
• 04Document lift/ramp faults and report them to the carrier immediately.

Passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility have rights under regulation (EU) 181/2011 on bus passengers' rights. A basic set of rights applies to all scheduled services, while more extensive rights (including free assistance) apply to scheduled services where the route is 250 km or longer. The regulation binds both operator and terminal — not just the driver.

• 01Right to transport and ticket without extra payment — a passenger cannot be refused solely on the grounds of disability.
• 02Free assistance on the bus and at designated terminals on routes of at least 250 km — when the need has been notified at least 36 hours in advance and the passenger turns up at the agreed point (no more than 60 min, otherwise no later than 30 min before departure) (art. 13-14).
• 03Compensation for loss or damage to wheelchairs and other mobility aids during transport.
• 04Available travel information and a system to handle complaints.

The technical requirements for when a bus is accessible are set out in UNECE Regulation No. 107 (M2/M3). The regulation sets requirements including low entry (low-floor or low-step), ability to lower the bus towards the pavement (kneeling), an approved ramp or lift with limited slope, at least one marked wheelchair space with prescribed minimum dimensions, priority seats for people with mobility difficulties, and a stop request button accessible from the wheelchair space. The precise dimensions and slope limits are set out in R107's annex on accessibility — look them up there rather than guessing.

In addition to type approval, the executive order on special requirements for buses (Executive Order no. 1487 of 12/12/2007) sets specific requirements for buses in commercial passenger transport. The requirements in §§ 7 and 9-11 do not apply to buses first registered before 13 February 2004.

• 01City bus (bus with standing places, frequent boarding and alighting and room for more than 22 passengers): at least one wheelchair space and at least four priority seats for other passengers with reduced mobility (§§ 6 and 9).
• 02Regular services on routes of at least 100 km: room for at least two wheelchairs — with several departures it is enough that at least one bus a day in each direction has it (§ 6(3)-(4)).
• 03A wheelchair of 1200 × 700 × 1090 mm must be able to get in through at least one door and on to the space; at the door there must be a kneeling system and a lift or ramp, and outside a call button no more than 1,300 mm above the ground (§ 7).
• 04Stop button at wheelchair spaces and priority seats 700-1200 mm above the floor, and a floor slope of no more than 8 % on the way there (§ 11).