Here is news.  On a conference call last week with Dean Perkins, ADA Coordinator for Florida DOT, someone brought up boarding and alighting areas (B&A) on rural road segments, i.e. ones that do not have curbs and gutters.  The question was:  is it a problem if the sidewalk and B&A are flush with the road instead of being elevated five or six inches as would be the case with a curbside stop?  Perkins paused and replied, “The B&A is ADA compliant.  The problem is the bus ramp is not.” 

That is a problem.  Unless your agency has a way to make your buses shorter or ramps longer, it is back to the drawing board on the B&A for rural segments.  Here is an illustration of how that could look in conjunction with a sidewalk.  Don’t forget that at the rear of the B&A there needs to be 2 feet of flat ground.  If there is a drop off, like at a drainage ditch, a safety rail is required.