The United Nations ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) has decided a tightening of fire safety standards for buses and coaches, modifying regulation n° 118 “Uniform technical prescriptions concerning the burning behaviour of materials used in the interior construction of certain categories of motor vehicles” (published 10th July 2010 in the Official Journal of the European Union, L 177/263, revised 2013).
The revision includes the following test obligations for materials used in bus and coach interiors: Horizontal flame propagation test to FMVSS 302, Small flame test on all vertical interior materials to ISO 6941, Dripping test for ceilings to NF P 92505, Burning behaviour test of electric cables to ISO 6722. On a voluntary basis, the stringent lateral flame propagation test to ISO 5658-2 used for railways in Europe can be performed. Materials that are approved by this test are considered to also fulfil the requirements for both the vertical burning rate test and the melting test, provided no burning drops are observed. Since 2014, this UNECE regulation is applicable in Europe, replacing Directive 95/28/EC on fire safety of buses. There is agreement that the modification of UNECE regulation 118 is a positive step for bus and coach fire safety, but standards are still very inadequate and much weaker than for trains. In particular, the regulation needs to be extended to cover better fire safety of bus and coach seats.
“Busses – Fire Safety Requirements tightened, but not enough” http://www.flameretardants-online.com/web/en/news/index.htm?showid=402