1. (a) The Service Door

   1. The service door shall be in the driver's control, designed to afford easy release and to provide a positive latching device on manual operating doors to prevent accidental opening. When a hand lever is used, no part shall come together that will shear or crush fingers. Manual door controls shall not require more than twenty-five (25) pounds of force to operate at any point throughout the range of operation, as tested on a ten (10) percent grade both uphill and downhill.

   2. The service door shall be located on the right side of the bus, opposite and within direct view of the driver.

   3. The service door shall have a minimum horizontal opening of twenty-four (24) inches and a minimum vertical opening of sixty-eight (68) inches.

   4. Service door shall be a split-type that divides and opens inward or outward, or jackknife-type. If one section of a split-type door opens inward and one opens outward then the front door section shall open outward.

   5. Lower, as well as upper, door panels shall be of approved safety glass. The bottom of each lower glass panel shall not be more than ten (10) inches from the top surface of the bottom step. The top of each upper glass panel shall not be more than three (3) inches from the top of the door.

   6. Vertical closing edges on split-type or folding type entrance doors shall be equipped with flexible material to protect children's fingers.

   7. There shall be no door to the left of the driver on Type B, C or D vehicles. All Type A may be equipped with the chassis manufacturer's standard left-side door.

   8. All doors shall be equipped with padding at the top edge of each door opening. Padding shall be at least three (3) inches wide and one (1) inch thick and extend across the full width of the door opening.

   9. On power operated service doors, the emergency release valve, switch or device to release the service door must be placed above or to the immediate left or right of the service door and clearly labeled with one-half (1/2) inch letters.

2. (b) Handrail

   A minimum of one handrail of stainless steel or equivalent strength stainless, corrosion resistant material shall be properly secured in an unobstructed location inside the doorway and shall pass the drawstring test, as recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration string and nut test. Grab handle lengths shall be as follows, Type A bus, grab handles shall be at least ten inches (10 inches) in length. Type B, C and D buses, grab handles shall be at least twenty inches (20 inches) in length.

3. (c) Steps

   1. The first step at service door shall be not less than ten (10) inches and not more than fourteen (14) inches from the ground when measured from the top surface of the step to the ground, based on standard chassis specifications, except that on Type D buses, the first step at the service door shall be twelve (12) inches to sixteen (16) inches from the ground. On chassis modifications which may result in increased ground clearance (such as four-wheel-drive) an auxiliary step may be provided to compensate for the increase in ground to first step clearance. The auxiliary step is not required to be enclosed.

   2. Step risers shall not exceed a height of ten (10) inches. When plywood is used on a steel floor or step, the riser height may be increased by the thickness of the plywood.

   3. Steps shall be enclosed to prevent the accumulation of ice and snow.

   4. Steps shall not protrude beyond the side of the body line.

4. (d) Step treads

   1. (A) Special compounding for good abrasion resistance and coefficient of friction of at least point six (.6) for the step surface, and point eight (.8) for the step noising; and
   2. (B) Flexibility to resist breaking, cracking or crazing when exposed to extreme warm or cold temperatures over a period of time.

   1. All steps, including the floor-line platform area, shall be covered with one hundred eighty-seven thousandths (0.187) inch rubber floor covering or other materials equal in wear and abrasion resistance to top grade rubber.

   2. The metal or polymer back of the tread shall be permanently bonded to the step tread material.

   3. Steps, including the floor-line platform area, shall have a one and one half (1½) inch nosing that contrasts in color by at least seventy (70) percent measured in accordance with the contrasting color specifications in 36 CFR, part 1192 ADA, "Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles."

   4. Step treads shall have the following characteristics:

5. (e) The step well shall be adequately illuminated by at least one (1) lamp providing a white lamp actuated automatically by the opening of the door.
6. (f) A head bumper pad shall be installed on the inside at the top of the service door. The pad shall extend across the opening of the exit and shall be designed and positioned to protect the heads of passengers using the exit.

(Adopted effective May 2, 2007)