URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS

Ministry of Urban Development

Government of India
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M I N I S T E RO F
U R B A ND E V E L O P M E N T
G O V E R N M E NO T F INDIA

M ESSAGE

An efficient, effective, eco-and consumer-friendlyUrban

T r a n s p o r t a t i o n - w i t h o uw
t hich citiescan becomeimmobile-is
t h e n e e d o f t h e c o u n t r y i n t h i s c e n t u r y .I f t h e l o o k a n d f e e l o f
p u b l i ct r a n s p o r ti s n o t i m p r o v e ds u b s t a n t i a l l ay n d o n a n u r g e n t
b a s i s a c r o s sv a r i o u s c i t i e s ; t o a l e v e l t h a t i t c a n b e s o l d t o
p u b l i c a s a b r a n d e d p r o d u c t ,u r b a n m o b i l i t y s h a l l b e c o m e a
s e r i o u sd a m p e n e rt o t h e e c o n o m i cg r o w t h ,

W e , i n t h e M i n i s t r yo f U r b a nD e v e l o p m e n ta, r e c o n s t a n t l y
e x p l o r i n gd i f f e r e n t p o s s i b i l i t i e tso i m p r o v e t h e u r b a n m o b i l i t y
y h i c h w o u l d m a k e c o m m u t i n gf o r r e s i d e n t so f
a n d a c c e s s i b i l i tw
c i t i e s w i t h p o p u l a t i o no f f i v e l a k h p l u s a n d s t a t e c a p i t a l s ,t o
s t a r t w i t h , e a s ya n d s m o o t h .

I a m c o n f i d e n tt h a t t h i s h a n d y r e f e r e n c eo n u r b a n b u s -
s p e c i f i c a t i o n sw o u l d s e r v e t h e p u r p o s e o f e d u c a t i n g p e o p l e
a b o u t e f f o r t s c o l l e c t i v e l yb e i n g m a d e b y t h e G o v e r n m e n t ,
Industry and Academia to improve urban bus- based
transportation.

I s i n c e r e l yc o m p l i m e n tt h o s e w h o w e r e i n s t r u m e n t a li n
s h a p i n gt h i s r e f e r e n c eb o o k l e t ,w h i c h I e a r n e s t l yh o p e w o u l d
a s s i s t u s i n t r a n s f o r m i n gt h e c i t y b u s - s e r v i c e si n c i t i e s i n o u r
country.

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 PREFACE

T ra n sp o rti s a ma j o ri ssu ein m ostcitiesof India.W ith onlyabout25 of the

large cities offeringsome form of organizedcity bus service,most other cities
d e p e r r do n i n fo rma li n te rme d i ate publictr anspor lfacilities.In the lar ge cities ,
limitecJ supplyand poor qualityof servicehas resultedin declinein patronageof
Publicl-ransportand led to largescalemotorization, As a result,the problernsof
congestion,safety and pollutionhave become acute, besides adding global
w a r m i n gth ro u g hi n cre a se dGH G em issions.Despiteincr easinginvestm entsin
road infrastructure, clean fuel policies,and the constructionof flyovers,lravel
c o n d i t i o n sfo r a n a ve ra g e ci ti z en r em ain a concer n.Fur ther ,planningand
developmentof road infrastructure, regulationsfor private or public vehicles,
licensingprocedures,and operationsof statetrarrsportundertakingscontinueto
b e d o n e i n p i e ce -me anl ra n n e ar nd in isolation, whichalsoadd to the pr oblem.

2. Inrprovedpublic transportservices are necessaryto anrelioratetl-rese

problernsas bus systemplaysa majorrole in all the motorizedtrips in any c;ityas
per the global experience.However,most of tlre City/ State Road Transport
LJndertakings operatingon a fare based revenuemodel have neitherbeett in a
positionto meet the demand nor the servicequality. They have also nr:t set
ratesat a levelto meettheircost of operations.Accordingly, for city bus service,
the buses are procuredor permittedwhich can be sustainedfrom fare box
revenuealone, resultingin buses that are not passengerfriendly.The dernand
from tlre averagepassengeris in terms of qualityof service,safety, reliability,
efficiencyand comfort.Thus there is a mismatchbetweenthe expectationsand
the actual availabilityof publictransport. Therefore,it would be essentialthat
qualitybuses are introducedfor city trarrsport.This would not only change the
mind set of peopleaboutbusesbut also help in improvingthe imageof the city.

3" U n fo rtu n a te li yn In d i a ,th er e is har dlyany advancem ent in this fieldeven

after 60 years of indepenclence. The present city buses (public or private)
c o n t i n u eto su ffe r fro m p o o r b rand im age, m ostly r em ain non user fr iendly,
c o n t i n u eto b e e rg o n o mi ca l lpy oor ly designed,unfit for physicallychallenge d
persons,fuel inefficient,non ITS enabledand low on passengercomfort.\A/ith
t h e f o c u s o n h a vi n g a re sp o nsivepublic tr anspor tand passengerfr iendly
facilities,through these urban bus specifications, it is intendedto lay down
minimumrecommended specifications acrossthe countryto facilitateirrtroduction
of ITS enabledmoderncity bus servicein citiesso that the idea can be sold to
the publicas a brandedproductand peoplecatt take pride in travelingby ptrblic
t r a n s p o r t.B ro a d l ymo d e rnb u sesshouldbe sleekand er gonomically designed,
slrould facilitatelevel boarding and alighting,have comfortable seating and
suspension,advancedpassengerinformationsystem, vehicle informationand
trackingsystems,shouldbe passengerand disabledfriendlyand have electronic
fare collection,amongotherrequirements.

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tl One of the immediatequestionswhichworildcome to everybody'smind is
whethersuch specifications wouldturn out to be costlyand henceunsustainable.
W h a ti s pe rh a p sre q u i re di s, a par adigmshiftin the wholethinkingtowar dspubli c
transport.While the fares needto be reasonable, the intentionis not to int;rease
the fares. In fact a two prongedstrategyis requiredto introducesuch modern
b u s e so n su sta i n a b l be a si s,o n e to augmentr evenuefr om sour cesbesidesfar e s
and second,to re(.ucethe costof thesebusesas well as publictransportthrough
eitlrerwaivingoff or drasticallyreducingthe taxesat the Stateleveland city level.
The State Governmentsand the urban local bodiesshould set up a dedicated
urban transportfund as envisagedin the NationalUrbanTransportPolicy-2006
to not only meet the investmentneedsfor urbantransportinfrastruciure br-rtalso
to help in keepingthe fares low. In fact,the city leveldedicatedurbantransport
fund can also be used to set up a fare contingencyfund to meet the difference
betweenpublicfare and the technicalfare payableto the privateoperator(for the
o p e r a t io n asu
l sta i n a b i l i ty).

5. m echanismas well a s
T h e reh a s to b e a p a ra digmshiftin the institutional
for the operation and managementsystem for the city bus service. The
investrnent requirements for introduction of modernITS enabledbuses are of the
o r d e ro f R s. 3 8 ,0 0 0cro re i n th e 11il'
Five Year Plan. As such,while continued
participationof the said transportundertakingscould be envisagedto some
extent,consideringthe magnitudeof investmentrequirement,the ottly way to
establishan adequate and efficientmodern ITS enabled bus transportation
system in the city is to make investmentsin such a system attractivefor the
privatesector and to rely on public-private partnership.This can be done by
settingthe standardsof serviceand layingdown tfrefar,esthat are affordableand
biddingout the routes. The publicprivatepartnershipshould be irr the form of
settingup of professionalumbrellapublicbodiesthat have the capacityto make
scientificassessmentof the demandon variousroutesand contractservicesthat
can be properlynronitored.These umbrellapublicbodiesshould also manage
common facilitieslike bus stations,bus depots, terminals,central office and
controlcentre etc. and providefor the maintenancefacilities,wl-tichthe private
p l a y e r s ca n u se o n p a yme nt basis. Such um br ellabodies should hav e
representation from all the major operatorsand stake holders includingtraffic
police.
'fhe
6. presentpermitsystemonly promotespennywar on the road and has
n6 in-builtmechanismfor qualitycontrol,adherenceto safetystandards,taking
care of passenger comfort etc. As such, the bus operationsneed to be
corporatisedthrough concessionsbeing awarded to bidders whcl have a
minimumfleet size, say 25 buses. For efficientoperationsas well as cross
s u b s i d iza ti o na, n u mb e r o f ro utes need to be bundledfor bidding. Sm al l
operatorscan participateby forming cooperatives,so that they can fr'rlfillthe
public
criterionof minimumsize of ileet. Whetheronpublicprivatepartnershipor
sectormodel,the city transportshouldbe managedby a SPV which looks after

I'age2 of 3
 only the city transport. The existingroutes will also need
to rationalizecl
and
freslr time table got prepared. All ihese information
would need to be made
a v a i l a b l eto p u b l i cth ro u g l rd ynamicand staticpassenger
infor m ationsysr em .
There shorrldalso be an effectiveand ongoing mechanism
of getting regular
feedbackfrom the bus passengerson ,eruices,quality,
need for irnprovernent
etc The studiesfor any routerationalization, preparationof DpRs etc. would be
eligiblefor supportup to B0% of the total "ori "r grant (so%
in case of DpRs)
from Ministry of Urban Development,Governrnent
. of India under the new
s c h e n r eo f u rb a ntra n sp o rtp l a n ning.

T Thoughthese bus specifications envisageonly low floor/semilow floor buses

to facilitatelevel boardingand alightingin cas" tr
"ity bus serviceand tsRTS,
certainBRTS may have specificrequirements which may permiteven high floor
buses,if the BRTS is a closedsystemand is similarto
the metro railwaywnere
the rollingstock movesonly in the fixedcorridors.

B' A s a l re a d yb ro u g h to u t i n m y D.o. letterNo.K- 1401

1/3g/2a07- uTdated
25'10'2007to all Chief Secretaries,these specifications
have been drafteclby
M o U Di n co n su l ta ti ow n i th S IA M,llT Delhi,nnnt Pune,M/s Ur banMass
Tr ansit
Contpany,and some of the companies/ corporationsassociated
with bus
o p e r a t i o n s,
vi z. IC T S L /In d o reD, IM TS/Delhi, gM fClgangalor eand all t6e
bus
manufacturers in India.While,framingthesespecificationrl.rru has been taken
thal Bus Body code framedby Minisiryof Road -fransport
and Highwaysis not
violated.
'I
9' he commentsreceivedfrom variousStatesand stake holders,in writing
as well as during the Conferenceon 16thJanuary,2008 in Delhi, Ministry
of
Heavy Industries,Governmentof India, Departrnentof Road Transporl
and
Highways,Governmentof India have also been suitably incorporated.Some
commonstandardspecifications for urbanbusesurouldhelp in bringingdown the
cost of modern buses to enable providinghigh quality publiJ trinsport
at
affordablecost.

10' We do hope and expect that these Urban Bus Specificatiorrs though
recommendatory in nature,will be adoptedby all the Statesand citiesfor city
bus serviceand also for all new procurementsin view of the need to provide
q u a l i t yp u b l i ctra n sp o rtsyste msi n all cities.
n
IL-"----^'.-,--,4'*-.
1
( Dr .M. Ram achar r dr an)
Secretary(UrbanDevelopment)
D a t e d1 t t - 1 1 - 0 8 Gover nm ent
of India

l)age3 of 3
 Government of India
Ministry of Urban Development
Urban Transport Division
-------

RECOMMENDATORY URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS

Sl. Parameters Details Recommended Specifications

No.

Standard Bus( Type I Bus as Mini / Midi Buses

per AIS 052 )

1 Doors Minimum Width of 1. At least one door will Mini 650mm

Service Doors be 1200 mm ( to Midi 800 mm ( length 8
facilitate easy access m)
for physically Layout to maximise the
challenged persons) standee passenger
and the other door • Doors mandatory
could be 650mm • Type of Door
2. Doors mandatory opening :
3. Type of Door Preferably in
opening : Preferably swinging
in swinging

2 Windows Minimum Width of 550 mm 450 mm

Windows (clear vision
zone)

Minimum Height of 550 mm 450mm

Windows

Type of Window The window panes shall be
sliding type for all buses
except AC buses. In AC
buses there shall be provision
for adequate ventilation in
case of AC failure
The window panes shall be
sliding type for all buses
except AC buses. In AC
buses there shall be
provision for adequate
ventilation in case of AC
failure
 RECOMMENDATORY URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS
3 Guard Rails − All School buses
shall be provided
with minimum of two
guard rails
− The first guard rail
shall be provided at a
height of 75 mm from
the lower window sill
− The distance between
two guard rails shall
be 75 to 100 mm.
− Guard rail for other
types of buses may
not be provided if the
lower edge of the
window sill is at least
200 mm above the
uncompressed top of
the seat cushion
− Guard Rails are not
applicable for ACX
buses
4 Emergency No. of Emergency At least 1 Emergency doors/
Exits Exits & Exits or apertures
Dimension(min.) Dimension –1250 mm x 550
mm
(for emergency window –
- min 4000 cm2
5 Steps Maximum Height of 400 mm
first step from ground
Maximum Height of 250 ( 300 if door behind rear
Other Steps axle) mm max for Type – I
2
− All School buses
shall be provided
with minimum of
two guard rails
− The first guard rail
shall be provided at
a height of 75 mm
from the lower
window sill
− The distance
between two guard
rails shall be 75 to
100 mm.
− Guard rail for other
types of buses may
not be provided if
the lower edge of
the window sill is
at least 200 mm
above the
uncompressed top
of the seat cushion
− Guard Rails are not
applicable for ACX
buses
At least 1 Emergency
doors/ Exits or apertures
Dimension –1250 mm x
550 mm
(for emergency window -
- min 4000 cm2
400 mm
250 ( 300 if door behind
rear axle) mm
 RECOMMENDATORY URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS

6 # Maximum The floor height shall 650 mm ( 35 % of total floor 650 mm in the entrance
Floor Height be measured at any one area min. ) or 400 mm ( 35 area (35 % of standee
of the service doors of % of total floor area) area of floor area)
the vehicle in unladen
condition ( reference
point to be specified by
the manufacturers)
7 Gangway Minimum Height 1900 mm 1750 mm (for standee)
1500 mm (for non-standee)
Minimum Width 450 mm 450 mm
300 mm (for non-standee)
8 Seats Seat Layout 1x 1 or 2x0 in low floor area 2x1
2x2 in the higher floor area 2x2 (for non-standee bus)
Seating Area/Space Per 400x350 mm (AIS 052) 400x350 mm (AIS 052)
Passenger (Total Width
X Depth)
Seat spacing 650 mm - Type I As per AIS 023
( AIS 023 )

# For special applications like Bus Rapid Transit System where “closed system of operation is planned,
high floor buses may be used with the overall aim of providing level boarding and alighting by raising the floor
height of bus stations.

9 Destination Minimum No. of Min. Height of Destination Min. Height of Destination

Board Destination Board Board: 220 mm Board: 220 mm
in line with AIS 052 Min. width of Destination Min. width of Destination
Board : 1800 mm for front & Board : 800 mm
900 mm for rear and service
door side. – Location front top left
– Location front top left hand corner
hand corner

Illumination of Required Required

destination board

Internal Destination Required Required

Board
10 Pad Material In line with AIS 052 : In line with AIS 052 :
preferably no padding (plastic preferably no padding
moulding seats ) (plastic moulding seats )

3
 RECOMMENDATORY URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS

11 Upholstery In line with AIS 052 : In line with AIS 052 :

preferably no padding (plastic preferably no padding
moulding seats ) (plastic moulding seats )
12 Other Headrest Not required Not required
Features
Stanchion As per ECE R 36 ( AIS 046 As per ECE R 36 ( AIS 046
to be aligned) to be aligned)
Seat Arm Not required Not required

Magazine Pouch Not required Not required

Individual Seat Row Not required Not required

Fans

Air Conditioning Optional Optional

Reading Lights Not required Not required

Cabin Luggage Carrier Not required Not required

Audio visual system in Required Required

line with AIS 052
13 Standing To be determined on the basis
Capacity of seat layout as per the bus
code
14 Sitting / Not required Not required
Standing
Ratio
15 Power Required Required
Steering
16 Transmission • Automated manual • Automated manual
i.e. gear shift / power gear shift / power
Automatic / assisted gear shift / assisted gear shift /
Manual automatic automatic
transmission / transmission /
manual-Optional manual - optional
17 Seat Belts Not required other than driver Not required other than
Requirement driver

4
 RECOMMENDATORY URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS
18 Anti Lock Not required Not required
Breaking
System
(ABS)
19 Suspension Air suspension Normal suspension
type for Front (In BRT buses the level of
/ Rear floor should be same
irrespective of load using any
technology )
20 Acceleration Acceleration – 1 m/sec/sec in Acceleration – 1 m/sec/sec
full load (Max for passenger, in full load (Max for
min for design) passenger, min for design)
0-30 kmph in 10 sec or less 0-30 kmph in 10 sec or
less
Max Speed : 30-90 kmph Max Speed: 30-90 kmph

21 Engine Optional ( can be decided by Optional (can be decided

Location the manufacturer) by the manufacturer)
22 Side Facing Optional Optional
Seats
23 Door Closing
Requirements Mandatory Mandatory
for Bus
Movement
24 Fire Required Required
Extinguisher
25 Gear Shifting Column / Floor Column or floor Column or floor
Position
26 Kneeling Optional (where provided, Not required
requirements kneel down height – 200 mm)
27 Approach Min. 8O Min. 8O
Angle (Min)
28 Departure Min. 8O Min. 8O
Angle(Min)
29 Passenger
Compartment 1900 mm in non low floor 1750 mm (for standee)
Internal area 1500 mm (for non standee)
Height (Rear (1700 mm in case of rear
Axle Floor saloon area of Rear Engine
Area) bus)

5
 RECOMMENDATORY URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS
30 Type of Floor Sloping / Plain Sloping or plain Sloping or plain
(Plain – not applicable to low (Plain – not applicable to
floor buses) low floor buses
31 Steps on Yes / No optional optional
Floor
32 Maximum Max. 6% ( As per AIS 052) Max. 6% ( As per AIS 052)
Floor Slope
33 Low Floor (% of total floor area) 35 % 35 %
Area
34 Floor Surface Anti Skid floor surface Anti Skid floor surface
35 Requirement Wheel Chair Anchoring In bus with 400 mm floor Not required
for passenger height
with limited Priority Seats At least 2 At least 2
mobility Stop Request On every pillar On every pillar
Manual Ramp 1. Required for bus with For 650 mm floor height
400 mm floor height ramp required to enable
2. For 650 mm floor wheel chair entry from
height ramp required BRT station at 400 mm
to enable wheel chair platform
entry from BRT
station at 400 mm
platform
36 Life cycle Drive Train Life of bus – 10 years or as Life of bus – 10 years or as
Requirements Body Structure mandated by local legislation mandated by local
-AMC by Manufacturers / as legislation
per manufacturer’s - AMC by Manufacturers/
recommendations as per manufacturer’s
- Refurbishing of body every recommendations
5 years - Refurbishing of body
- Change of drive train at every 5 years
500, 000 km - Change of drive train at
500, 000 km

37 ITS Related Ticketing Bus architecture should be Bus architecture should be

Requirements compatible with ITS compatible with ITS

Smart Card Required Required

Passenger Information Required Required

Systems (Audio-visual) (Audio-vidual)
Vehicle Tracking Bus architecture should be Bus architecture should be
Systems compatible with vehicle compatible with vehicle
tracking system tracking system

6
 RECOMMENDATORY URBAN BUS SPECIFICATIONS
38 Lighting (Fog lamp to be categorically (Fog lamp to be
provided in Northern region categorically provided in
buses ) As per AIS 052 Northern region buses ) As
per AIS 052
39 Crash- As per CMVR As per CMVR
worthiness
Requirements
40 Warning
As per CMVR As per CMVR
Triangle
41 Driver’s
As per Bus Body Code As per Bus Body Code
working
AIS:052 AIS:052
space
42 Rear View As per CMVR As per CMVR
Mirrors (AIS:001 & AIS:002) (AIS:001 & AIS:002)
43 Safety Glass As per CMVR As per CMVR

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TRANSFORMING CITY