Safety upgrades for a fleet of community buses, on which a seat was deemed a serious risk after an elderly woman fell, smashed her head and died in her driveway in 2019, have been delayed by COVID-19 restrictions.
But the ACT government says it is committed to upgrading the safety on a fleet of community buses, on which a seat was deemed a serious risk in a coronial inquest.
A delay to a consultant being able to assess the fleet of buses due to COVID-19 restrictions means the government did not know when necessary upgrades will be made.
The woman died in May 2019 after travelling to and from a Canberra community centre on a bus modified by Transport Canberra for the not-for-profit organisation Communities@Work.
Coronial inquest findings, published in August, show the bus stopped outside her home before the driver got out to retrieve the woman's walker from the back of the vehicle.
Midway there, he heard what Coroner Glenn Theakston described as "a loud noise".
The man turned around to see the woman lying unconscious on her concrete driveway, with her legs in the bus stairwell.
Two passengers later told police the 85-year-old had stood up from a seat opposite the side door and taken a step backwards.
She then fell out through the door, which had opened automatically upon arrival at her home.
The bus driver called an ambulance and the woman was taken to Canberra Hospital, where she died without ever regaining consciousness.
Transport Canberra and City Services has appointed an external consultant to undertake a risk assessment of the fleet used to provide community bus services, the ACT government's response to the inquest's findings said.
"Due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and interstate travel restrictions, the consultant was unable to travel to the ACT to undertake the physical inspection of the vehicles until November 2021," the response, tabled in the Legislative Assembly on February 10, said.
The government said it would need another six months after the risk assessment was completed to implement any modifications or changes recommended.
"The ACT government acknowledges the tragic death of [the woman] ... and the effect that her loss has had on her family, friends and community," the government said.
"The ACT government is committed to working with community partners to ensure the safety of passengers using community bus services now and into the future."
Mr Theakston said Communities@Work had "quickly and appropriately" accepted recommendations from WorkSafe ACT following the incident.
The not-for-profit implemented six protocols including that bus doors on its service no longer open automatically on arrival at destinations.
Drivers and signage are also now used to remind passengers to stay seated until the driver is ready to help them get off the bus.
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In his findings, Mr Theakston said the deceased woman's family had expressed concern about the elevated seat the 85-year-old had been sitting on, as well as a step between it and the stairwell.
"It appears that only one seat in the bus is elevated in that manner," the coroner said.
"The family submitted that the door being open and the presence of that step contributed directly to [the woman's] fall, the severity of the injury she suffered, and ultimately her death."
Mr Theakston said the evidence was not clear enough for him to make a finding about whether the step contributed to the fall.
"However, the presence of that step, so close to the stairwell and an open door, must create the risk that any fall due to that step could result in a fall through the open bus door," he wrote.
"In the above circumstances, I find that a matter of public safety does arise.
"The use of the seat, located on an elevated step adjacent to the opening side door of the bus, represents a serious risk to passengers with mobility issues."
