Reducing non-collision injuries aboard buses: passenger balance whilst climbing the stairs

In a previous work of the authors, the impact of acceleration on people’s walking on the lower deck of a bus was examined. The importance of investigating the impact of bus acceleration when people are walking on the bus staircase is also recognised. As many falls occur on steps or stairs, especially during stair descending, eliminating non-collision bus injuries will attract more people to active means of transportation and will contribute towards healthier societies. Twenty-nine healthy and regular bus users (20–80 yrs.), took part in this study. Their natural gait on a static staircase was monitored in a laboratory and was compared to their gait on the staircase of a moving doubledecker bus. When the bus was in motion, the most common movements aboard buses were studied: stair ascending during bus acceleration and stair descending during bus deceleration. The examined acceleration levels (low - 1.0 m/s2, medium - 1.5 m/s2, high - 2.5 m/s2) were set in the range of accelerations experienced by passengers on the real bus service in London. ANOVA tests were conducted considering the changes in double support time (DST, gait event indicative of balance) between tasks and levels of acceleration. Participants’ age and gender were also variables informative of the significance of the differences in DST. The results revealed that passengers start their journeys with an inherent disadvantage due to the bus staircase design, which worsens their ability to maintain balance as acceleration increases. To eliminate falls aboard buses, the current acceleration level should be decreased and the appropriate level is discussed in the paper