The idea is to help senior citizens and children to board and/or get down from busses, by providing an extra step at the end of the bus staircase, such that it can be extended and retracted as and when required. The step is required to be in extended (downward) position when senior citizens and/or children want to get down or climb up in any bus stop, and should be in retracted (upward) position when the bus is in moving condition. The step extends and retracts with the help of the same pneumatic system and actuation mechanism, which are employed to operate the automatic doors in a bus. Therefore, the same air compressor and storage tank, which are already used in the busses, can be used for our project simultaneously. However, only a prototype working model is being fabricated to demonstrate the working and feasibility of the project. Upon positive reception, the project can be further fabricated to be mounted on a running bus without altering the basics used in the prototype.

Keywords : pneumatic system, actuating mechanism, compressor and storage tank.