I work in a major city and take the same commuter bus each morning, meaning that most of us bus riders have got to know each other quite well. There's a man that takes the bus with me who is for the most part a really nice guy, but he is a bit of a right wing Daily Fail type at times. He's married with no kids.
We're stopped in traffic on a main street and we are all looking out of the window and see a young mum or nanny pushing a double buggy with two kids in it. No drama, no one's falling over the buggy or being pushed out the way. No issues- just lady pushing buggy and getting on with it. This bloke on my bus- let's call him Bob- starts yelling out the open window that double buggys should be banned by law. He then elabarates that it's because they block the whole pavement. He starts to go on and on about when he was a kid how the double buggys weren't side to side but with the kids sitting in front of each other. In his excited state he yells that the extended front style buggys were most likely banned for psycological reasons (!) because of someone complaining about equality or low self esteem. He then yelled out "What's wrong with mums today, why can't they do their jobs?"
Obviousley WTF, but also:
- When I was a nanny I used the side-to-side type double buggys. They are much lighter, cheaper, easier to push and easier to collapse and take on the tube/bus/taxi/car/up a flight of stairs. The extended front ones are more suitable for a baby and toddler, and the side-to-side ones for bigger kids closer in age.
- Either one takes up some space on the pavement.
- It's the parent's or caregiver's choice what to use- not some random bus rider's.
- If somebody is taking up more pavement space because of a pram or buggy, wheelchair, guide dog, holding hands with a toddler, supporting an elderly person, on crutches etc. surely it's MY responsibility as an abled bodied and considerate person to slow down or walk around them?