Emergency release mechanism for electrical bus door

An emergency release mechanism for use with a door operator of a multi-passenger mass transit vehicle for manually opening a door of such mass transit vehicle, said emergency release mechanism comprising:

• (a) a toggle mechanism, said toggle mechanism having a first and second fixed pivot and a movable pivot positioned between said first and second fixed pivot, said first fixed pivot being secured to a wall portion of said vehicle;
• (b) a target member one of associated with and a component of said door operator, said target member capable of moving in a vertical direction to enable an emergency release of said door;
• (c) a clamping lever having a first end and a second end, said first end of said clamping lever being pivotally attached to said second fixed pivot of said toggle mechanism and said second end of said clamping lever capable of engaging said target member;
• (d) means for mounting said clamping lever such that said clamping lever is capable of pivoting in a first and second direction to one of an engaging and disengaging position with respect to said target member;
• and
• (e) actuating means connected to said movable pivot of said toggle mechanism for pivoting said clamping lever in one of an engaging position and disengaging position with said target member for moving said target member in a vertical direction for achieving an emergency release of said door of said mass transit vehicle.