The red, double-decker London bus is a well-known feature of the United Kingdom's capital city. It is estimated that around 6.5 million passengers are transported every day on London buses, and they are a vital service for the old, young, disabled and lower-income London residents.
A new Bus Safety Standard, which details bus safety requirements that all bus operators will need to endorse up to 2024, has been published by TfL (London Transport Authority) and comes as part of an approach to reach zero deaths on or by a bus in London by 2030.
A range of safety features (that have been tested by the independent UK Transport Research Laboratory (TRL)) will also be required from next year and so, in the shorter term, this standard will reduce road danger:
- Special warning pedal indicators for drivers
- Increased blind spot mirrors and reversing cameras
- Speed limiter technology
- Audible bus presence alerts for pedestrians and other road users
- High-grip slip reduction flooring internally
In the future (by 2024), it will be mandatory for London bus operators to have in place technologies including pedal confusion interventions and advanced emergency braking, as well as redesigned bus fronts to reduce collision impacts.
Article first published on 17 October 2018
Sources
Details
- Publication date
- 9 November 2018
- Topic
- Policy and research
- Country
- United Kingdom