Bus driver taking off, baby in a sling

[IABURQO]

Many times now when I have the baby in a sling, the bus driver has driven off before I have any chance of sitting down. Usually there are free seats, so I'm not taking time even by waiting for someone to get up. One yesterday started driving away as I touched the card on the reader, not for the first time. It isn't the same driver, nor even the same bus; quite a few will wait but an equal number don't. AIBU when I shout to ask them to wait as I have a baby in a sling? Should I assume they'll take off and ask them to wait for me to sit before I touch the card? It feels so dangerous for the baby when the bus is rocking around and other passengers wobbling about; is it just me that worries because I have tendonitis and I can't rely as much on holding on, so I should be explaining that to the driver instead of assuming they'll realise a baby is vulnerable? What do other people do?

Report them selfish bastards

stoneofdestiny fair enough for you not to want to use one yourself, but I find that a lot of people have this idea that slings are unsafe and it puts people off using something that, as long as you're sensible and monitoring the baby, can be a really useful (and much cheaper than a pram!) tool

It's not about playing pinball with pensioners. Buses have to run to schedule or the entire network will collapse with buses and drivers in the wrong places. Bus companies simply cannot and should not entertain passengers taking hours to sit down.

God, parents get told that it's dangerous to use a sling on a bus, selfish to use a pram on the bus.... what gives? If you need to get somewhere on the bus, you need to get somewhere. Instead of implying that parents using slings on buses are unsafe, how about criticizing people who don't offer a seat to a parent with a baby in a sling?

Bus drivers never used to wait for me to sit down when I was trying to get around on double crutches and very clearly struggling, so I can't see why they would wait for someone with a sling and no obvious disability.

Sometimes I think they're trained to be especially obnoxious.

Yanbu I nursed an old lady who died because she broke her neck when a bus driver drove off when she was walking to a seat.
I used to get bused to school and it was drummed into us by the school to complain to them if our drivers tried to leave before we were all seated and going home a teacher would stand on the steps until we were all seated.

@MilkyTea20 - "hours"??? It takes seconds for me to walk to a seat with the baby. And so what if someone on crutches or an elderly person needs a few minutes each end, that's a lot less time wasted than hanging around for the ambulance when they go flying.

I've thought it through and I'm going to explicitly ask each driver to wait until I'm seated when I have the sling. If they don't then there's no excuse when I report them to their company and to TFL. I'll suggest the same approach to anyone else who looks like they need it.

Very sorry to hear that @planetclom

I email bus company every time this happens I am disabled and I am fed up of impatient drivers it takes somebody seconds to try and find a seat they should bloody wait. I also ring the bell and sit till the bus stops which annoys some drivers but i don't care. Yanbu complain every time

Please report all drivers who do this.

Take a photo of the information on how to report them using your mobile so you can do it later. The photo will also give you the approximate time plus date and location of the incident.

Ffs - people saying it would be an inconvenience to wait a little longer (10 seconds max in most cases) at each bus stop for people to sit down, really? The bus company should factor in "loading times" on their timetable.

I have had the pleasure of hitting my pregnant belly off a pole on a bus (up North, to the PP who said they weren't rude up here) because the driver didn't wait. Due to me being rhesus negative, I have to question the severity of every knock in case I need an anti D top up.

A bit of common courtesy could avoid a lot of potential injuries (and court cases).

Good god were you and bump ok?

Yes thank you @MrsJayy.

Really gets my goat that in this day and age, people put timetables and their desperate desire to be somewhere right now before common decency. Get an earlier bus or start lobbying for improved timetables.