Our current Italian built double decker diesel buses are being replaced by new electric buses from China. They give a very quiet ride so I can listen to my MP3 player while travelling and it is nice not to get a face full of fumes when I get off and the bus pulls away - BUT -
They haven't taken our local demographic into account when choosing the new bus.
This bus route is the direct connection between three neighbouring towns and travels mostly up and down the Main Road between them, venturing off into the main shopping area in each. In the morning it fills up with workers and older students, the latter refilling them mid afternoon as they return home, and then again workers in the evening but the rest of the day it is a combination of people, mainly elderly out doing their shopping or going to appointments and young mothers with their buggies and pre-school age children getting in supplies.
In the "old" buses a lot of friendly seat swapping took place to accommodate people according to their needs downstairs while any young, fit unencumbered passengers headed upstairs. It worked quite well.
However, there are now far fewer seats (24) downstairs and all but 4, (plus a jump seat in the buggy/wheelchair section), are raised because of the under-floor batteries. The steps up range between about 8" and 12" in height (20cm and 30cm).
The seats are also a bit less wide as is the foot space between them, leaving one's knees as the only place for putting shopping. The only place a shopping trolley can be safely placed is the jump seat/buggy/second wheelchair space and this area is usually needed to accommodate at least one pushchair. It is no longer possible to hold onto a shopping trolley in this area while sitting in a front seat anyway.
The wheelchair space (rarely needed) no longer has an optional jump seat and only hanging straps are provided there. Like our elderly Nepalese residents I am too short to reach them.
I got on the bus to go to my Mobility class the other day. All four "low" seats were occupied by people who needed them. With one person pulling and one pushing I got me and my stick up the step into a vacant seat where I perched with nothing between me and a long drop. Very scary going round corners on that hard, narrow, slippery plastic seat! I was looking for my parachute or abseil rope to get down safely at my stop... Luckily I had not planned to go shopping after the class as I can't carry much and usually use a small trolley.
I have noticed our Nepali elderlies seem to be waiting for the rapidly declining diesel buses and not travelling on the EV's. They usually travel in a group of up to ten people and there just aren't enough seats they can use as most of them are shorter than my 5' 1", frail and wouldn't manage the high steps safely.
