Assessment of Rear Facing Wheelchair Accommodation on Bus Rapid Transit

The purpose of this Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) project was to evaluate the rear facing wheelchair securement for bus rapid transit and investigate wheelchair and wheelchair-user response to this method. This was done in three distinct parts: measurement of vehicle dynamics to provide a clear basis for any conclusions about alternative securement systems; evaluation of wheelchair response to bus motions using rear facing and side facing passive securement; and evaluation of user response to the concept of rear facing securement. The results of this project make it clear that rear facing securement of wheelchairs can be successful. More work needs to be done to identify the best ways to minimize incidental movement and prevent catastrophic movement for all types of wheelchairs, but there are no inherent barriers to successful implementation of this approach.