Hi all

Seeing as there seems to be much confusion over what meets the DDA regulations and what doesn't, and the dates etc for vehicles, I thought I would put a thread together to explain it all and therefore for discussion on various points.

The Regulations apply to any public service vehicle with a capacity exceeding 22 passengers used to provide a local or scheduled service. Here is a quick guide that I have written but you can find the full regulations here

Priority Floor Area 
Free of steps
Floor not to slope more than 3 deg, 5 deg in door area(s)
All floors need to be slip resistant

Contain at least 4 marked priority seats which must have a partition in front of it
Priority seats should not be moveable or tip up, and should only face the front or rear
Cushion width not less than 400mm, not above 500mm from floor

Gangways
Width of no less than 450mm upto a height of 1400mm from floor
Width of no less than 550mm at heights above 1400mm from floor
Vertical handrails must be provided along at least one side of gangway, at intervals of not less than 1050mm
Horizontal handrail from the door area to the priority seats, at a height between 800mm-900mm with minimum gaps where possible

Steps
should have contrasting colour edges
Entrance level must be no more than 250mm from the ground

Handrails
Horizontal handrail must be provided between 800mm-900mm from the ground on both sides
Horizontal handrail at intervals not more than 300mm from the door area to the designated wheelchair space
Handrails must have a diameter of not less than 30mm, not more than 35mm
No less than 45mm between the handrail and any other part of the vehicle
Contrasting colour

Bell pushes (communication device)
Must be within reach of every priority seat
Adjacent to no less than every third row of seats
No higher than 1200mm from floor for seated passengers
No higher than 1500mm from floor for standing passengers
Contrasting colour
When pressed, activate an audible and visual device (on each deck in case of double decks) that is visible to the majority of passengers

Kneeling system
Must be operational
Must be able to be stopped/reversible immediately by driver
Not allow vehicle to drive away while lowered

Destination Displays
On front of vehicle (route number & destination)
On nearside of vehicle (route number & destination) - between 1.2m (lower edge) and 2.5m (upper edge) height from the ground
Route number should be to the right of the front display
Displays showing both ends of the route simultaneously should be avoided

On rear of vehicle (route number only) - centrally above/below rear window no more than 2.5m above ground

Route numbers no less than 200mm height on front/rear displays
Route numbers no less than 70mm height on side display
Characters should contrast with background
Must be illuminated

Destination display must show characters no less than 125mm height on front, 70mm on side
Characters should contrast with background
Must be illuminated
Destinations must not be written in all capital letters

Dates for vehicles to comply
1st January 2015 - Single deck buses weighing less than 7.5 tonnes
1st January 2016 - Single deck buses weighing more than 7.5 tonnes
1st January 2017 - Double deck buses
1st January 2020 - Single deck & Double deck Coaches