Lift assembly with handrails for a passenger vehicle

A passenger bus comprising:

• a body having an entrance and a storage compartment located below the entrance;
• and
• a wheelchair lift including a stowed position located within the storage compartment and having a deployed position extending from the storage compartment, wherein the wheelchair lift includes:
• a housing;
• a lift assembly coupled to the housing;
• a platform coupled to the lift assembly;
• a first handrail assembly coupled to the platform, the first handrail assembly including a lower handrail shield coupled to a first handrail, and an upper handrail shield rotatably coupled to the lower handrail shield and moveable between a lowered position and an raised position with respect to the lower handrail shield, wherein the upper handrail shield in the lowered position is moveable with the lower handrail shield between a storage location and a boundary location.

A method of moving a wheelchair lift from a stowed position to a deployed position, wherein the wheelchair lift includes a first siderail assembly and a second siderail assembly respectively connected to a first side and to a second side of a platform, the method comprising:

• moving the first siderail assembly longitudinally along the length of the first side in response to movement of a first latch arm;
• moving the second siderail assembly longitudinally along the length of the second side in response to movement of a second latch arm;
• preventing pivotal movement of the first siderail assembly with respect to the first side by engaging a first pin during longitudinal movement of the first siderail assembly;
• and
• preventing pivotal movement of the second siderail assembly with respect to the second side by engaging a second pin during longitudinal movement of the first siderail assembly.