We need your thoughts for a discussion with Talk 107 radio station in Edinburgh on....

That's interesting, MO. There clearly are safety issues about transporting children who are not strapped in, but again, that extends way beyond traditional prams, and so misses the point. It sounds like an ill-considered, knee-jerk reaction to me

And the walls are like paper as well expat.
I can just hear the fond nostalgia in your voice

Oops forgot why i was on here
As I understand it the decision to ban prams was made after a poor wee baby in a pram had its legs broken after a bus driver braked too hard.
SO the bus company is trying to cover its own arse.
Prams SHOULD be allowed on, on the well advertised condition that it is at their own risk.
And, of course on the condition that they make way for a wheelchair.
Arguing that space is an issue doesnt make sense. What about really fat people, are they going to be told they cant board a bus either?
Or all those backpack laden tourists?

Oh, he must have known our downstairs neighbour, Ted the Ned, we called him.

I don't know which was worse, his drunken arguments with his girlfriend or his drunken karoke.

Expat - my friends Dh was "fae Muirhouse"
Lovely part of town aint it?
He entertains us from time to time with his authentic Ned impersonation.

Gosh it was a while ago, but yes I think so. So long ago I smoked and their cigarette machine was a drawer.

Dh is bringing me a frozen pizza from Co-op on his way back from work.

Should be here any minute. Huzzah!

But was it good? That's the £50,000 question!

There's a restaurant in Thurso that has a Scottish, Chinese and Indian menu We tried to have one course from each menu.

nearest takeway is about 13 miles from here.

it's okay.

no chinese, though, no thai and no indian - although this place does kebabs.

miss the chinese in bernard street.

My takeaway is on its way

Leith was a major step up, Dorothy!

I remember walking to the Links and taking in the view and thinking we'd hit the jackpot.

I routinely left hte buggy in the stair there to hoist the wee ones up and no thefts, thankfully.

GREAT takeaways, too.

If I ran a taxi company, I'd do a mum-and-baby discount offer for a while to shamelessly exploit this situation.

Of course it's unreasonable to ban prams. It doesn't matter whether it's a foldable buggy, double buggy or traditional non-folding pram. What matters is that they have a workable way of enforcing the "You must give up this space if a wheelchair-user needs it" rule. Expat's concerns about putting bus drivers "in the position of a police" may be a valid one, but they are in that position whether they're asking the person with the f-off pram to move, getting somebody with a foldable to fold it or getting the inconsiderate lard-arses clogging up the wheelchair space to move. So the matter that needs resolution is that one, and it's not resolved by banning prams.

maybe all the 'talk 107 business cars' could start offering to give lifts to all the mums with and babies, instead of parking half on, half off pavements, on corners etc....

Ah, Muirhouse. I expect you look back on it and say "those were the days", yes?

We are in a reasonably grubby bit of Leith, but no buggy theft so far. Which is good because I routinely leave it downstairs whilst hefting Mr Chunk up to safety.

Oooh, I Leith!!

Well I have seen mums (gladly) get off the bus with their pram if a wheel chair user has needed to get on.

This is discrimination. I had severe PND with Ds1 and if I hadn't been able to get out and about I think it might well have pushed me over the edge.

Why was this policy not given plenty of notice? It just appeared out of nowhere. Also, some drivers are completly ignoring it and letting prams on.

Also what if you are not from Edinburgh and on a day out? Great for the tourist industry. LRT should work on it's customer service as some of their drivers only like able bodied adults - no wheelchairs, old people or children.

People kept knackering the lock on the front door so all and sundry could get in that stair.

It used to do our nut.

stolen

oh god, a burn-scarred buggy stole by (presumably) neds -- I wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry. Perhaps a bit of both. And swear, obviously.

Thanks, Dorothy! That's the way to go I'm sure.

I need to get from Trinity or Lower Granton Road or Ferry Rd to the Law Society in the West End, mainly, once up to the US Consulate in Carlton Terrace and a time or two up to the town centre to see my old work colleagues and to Leith to see some old friends.

Sure we'll work it out.

We were on second floor with the two, Dorothy.

DD1 has dyspraxia and stairs are not her strong point, even now.

It can depend on the tenement, though.

In our first place, okay, it was in Muirhouse, I had to take DD1 out the buggy and walk up the stairs, as she was too heavy to carry sitting in the buggy up to the second floor.

I came back down, and, you guessed it!, someone had nicked the buggy.

Fuck!

But the hood had a bunch of holes in it from DH's fags .

Never happened at our 'new' tenement in Leith, though.

Not sure about 16 but the diversions seem to change frequently as the roadworks move - I would check the LRT site. Or call them, it's 555 6363 (memorized - am bus-dependent)

It's totally true, we are soft. I freely admit it. And I'm not as soft as some - I still get people asking how I manage up and down the tenement stairs with a baby . As if it's a totally new concept to have children and live in a building with stairs.

Shit, I need to check the council website for bus route diversions for next week.

I heard Leith Walk is going to be closed entirely briefly for the trams works and had wanted to swing by and see a pal.

Need to get to Bernard Street instead. Anyone know if the no. 16 is running as usual?

Can get it from fairly close to the ILs house.