(05 Jan 2016, 8:32 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Exactly my point. Deckers don't need to be DDA. And I doubt that in the real world anyone is going to be worried about even a single decker going round with no destination for a day or two until it can be fixed. Anything is better than a bus being cancelled. Yes it's reasonable to expect wheelchair access, but many of the DDA regulations are obsessive pedantry and are unfair expense to small operators trying to run buses where everything favours the big guys.
The cost of ensuring a fleet is DDA compliant is the same, no matter whether it's a small or large company. It's not as if these regulations have caught everyone by surprise; operators have had years to get everything in place, yet we're still seeing buses running around without having destination equipment fitted. There's no excuse for that, given how long everyone has known.
I'd disagree, and suggest its looked at in another way. If there's no standard set in writing, then it potentially allows every vehicle to be fitted to a different standard. Being in a wheelchair isn't a prerequisite to being classed as disabled, and it's important to recognise the huge spectrum of disabilities out there.