Presentation by: Luke Hardy Bus Industry Confederation Safety Advisories National Road Safety Forum 2012

The Australian Bus Industry in Brief: As of January 2011, there were 87,883 registered buses in Australia. (1) These buses are operated by more than 3,000 bus companies across the country. (2) More than 50,000 people are employed in the Australian bus industry with 10,000 people working in the bus manufacturing sector. (2) The bus industry services 1.5 billion urban public transport passengers per year. The coach sector of the industry move more than 1.6 million domestic travellers per year. (3) Typically there are around 1500 new buses delivered to the Australian market annually. (4)

Industry Representation: The bus industry is represented by Bus and Coach Associations in each State. Federally, the industry is represented by the Bus Industry Confederation. BIC members include bus operators, bus manufacturers and suppliers, plus parts and service providers to the industry. BIC has established a number of Functional Committees to manage issues and initiatives for approval by the BIC Council. One of these Committees is the Technical Committee, which is made up of chassis suppliers, bus manufacturers and bus operators. The key role of the Technical Committee is to progress safety within the industry and one of the ways of achieving this is via Industry Advisories.

The Industry Advisories are developed under a three step process of: The Advisories are very much designed to complement existing regulations. Industry Identifies a Current, Potential or Pending Safety Related Issue. A review is undertaken to determine potential Causes/Effects/Outcomes plus determine the regulatory status. An industry position is negotiated through extensive consultation and developed into a published Industry Advisory.

Bus Door Safety Advisory: Bus Door Safety is seen as critical for both Passenger and Driver Safety. Currently there are a range of systems used across the industry and although these systems have been successful in protecting passengers, there have been a number of driver fatalities due to either crush injury from door edges, or bus rollaway incidents. Thus the Bus Door Safety Advisory addresses the key areas of: Driver Vision Requirements. Door Safety for Passengers (and Bus Operators). Bus Rollaway Protection. Plus recommends maintenance and training requirements for fleet operators.

Bus Door Safety Advisory: The Advisory details how the functions of a Integrated Bus Door Safety System should operate to achieve the key safety outcomes. The existing local, and where appropriate EU regulations, are referenced, but the Advisory goes beyond these regulations as it treats the bus as a standalone entity that requires an integrated system to achieve an improved safety outcome. The Advisory recommends that Designers and Operators conduct their own System Risk Assessments to help ensure the correct safety outcomes are achieved.

Bus Door Safety Advisory Summary: A city route bus doors are opened and closed an average of 100,000 times per year. Thus over the productive life of a bus, the doors (and their Door Safety Systems) are operated up to 2 million times. Hence these systems need to be inherently safe. The Door Advisory is aimed at helping the Industry continue to achieve this outcome.

Other Advisories Under Development: There are a number of other Advisories under development including: Fire Mitigation on Buses and Coaches. DDA Compliance for Bus and Coach Operators. CCTV Use and Operation. Standardisation of School Bus Flashing Lights Restraint of Mobility Devises.

References: (1)ABS Census of motor vehicle – January (2)2010, Industry Survey, Bus Industry Confederation of Australia, Canberra (3)Tourism Research Australia, 2008, Transport Fact Sheet, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Canberra. (4)Bus Industry Confederation, 2011, Based on bus sales data recorded in Australasian Bus and Coach Magazine.

Luke Hardy Bus and Coach Support Pty Ltd.