COMPLIANCE COST ASSESSMENT OF ACCESSIBLE BUSES

In common with a number of other countries, Great Britain has legislated for the provision of full access to buses, taxis and rail services. This paper describes the Compliance Cost Assessment (CCA) for the UK bus industry. It is a requirement of government that any regulations that may affect business activities should be subject of a CCA, essentially to determine how much the application of the regulations will cost the industry concerned and to ensure that any obligations placed on the industry are not too onerous. It is based on an extensive series of interviews with bus operators, bus manufacturers, trade associations and a review of research into the effects of introducing low floor buses capable of being used by disabled passengers including wheelchair users. In addition to estimating the costs associated with building and operating fully accessible buses, the paper also considers potential additional fares revenue that may arise from the use of low floor buses.