The Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy sets out a commitment to vision zero: no deaths or serious injuries from any collisions on the roads of the capital by 2041, and no fatalities involving a London bus by 2030. The BSS is focussed on the contribution that vehicle safety features can make towards these challenging targets.
All TfL buses conform to regulatory requirements. TfL already uses a more demanding specification when contracting services and this requires higher standards in areas including environmental and noise emissions, accessibility, construction, operational requirements, and more. Many safety aspects are covered in the specification such as fire suppression systems, door and fittings safety, handrails, day time running lights, and others. However, the new BSS goes further with a range of additional requirements, developed by TRL and their partners and peer-reviewed by independent safety experts.
Slips on buses are also a cause of injury for bus passengers. There are well established methods of measuring the slip resistance of flooring, and these have been modified to suit buses. The test method involves using a pendulum device with a swinging shoe plate; the greater the resistance the less the shoe plate moves after it hits the floor. The BSS will require a minimum skid resistance of the anti-slip flooring fitted in the buses.
