Kassel kerb

A bus stop kerb is a special kerb (curb in US English) designed for low-floor buses that serve an elevated bus stop platform. The usage spread after good experiences with the Kassel kerb featuring a concave-section that allows for an easier alignment for buses which was first introduced in the German city of Kassel.

History

The invention of special curbs for low-floor buses is connected with the introduction of low-floor buses and modern low-floor trams in the late 20th century. The German NEOPLAN Bus GmbH had designed the first bus with a "low-entry section" in 1976 but it was not accepted well in the market. Since the 1980s the Association of German Transport Companies invested into the design for a new standard bus, the "Standard-Linienbus II" with the second generation Neoplan N 416 from 1982 to find wider acceptance. Shortly later MAN's concurrent Daimler was designing the Mercedes-Benz O405 in 1984 to fit with the new Standard-Bus requirements and this model spread quickly in the market in the late 1980s. Based on the Standard-Bus models a number of variants were developed by their respective manufacturers - here it was the Kässbohrer Setra S 300 NC to show first a low-floor version in 1987 that was sold since 1989. Daimler began to derive the low-floor version of its successful model in the Mercedes-Benz O 405 N that was produced since late 1989 which proved to be a robust design in the following years leading into rising production numbers. Consequently, Neoplan developed again low-floor versions of their Standard-Buses named Neoplan N4014, N4015, N4016 NF with production starting in 1990.