2 strollers per bus

[GingerBeverage]

How many times have you been told you can't get on a bus because there are already 2 strollers on board?
I'd have thought that any analysis of London bus users would highlight that people with strollers are some of the biggest users of the service.
Would it be SO terrible to have a little more space for us, and for wheelchair users?

Who picks their pram based on public transport?

Surely anyone who uses public transport regularly ought to.

I used a car a lot. I chose our pushchair based on that - it has to fit in the boot and still be room for other stuff.
Likewise when I chose an additional buggy for use on holidays I chose one suited to those needs - had to be quick and easy to fold, even one handed, had to be light to carry, etc.

@cherish123 - our local buses don't have a luggage area! This is what I was saying about it not always helping to fold as there is nowhere to put them anyway.

There's enough adequate space.
Parents need to look for something that is foldable and light enough to carry for those times when you need to fold and hold the baby.

Having the bottom deck for the purpose of pushchairs and wheelchairs is daft. For starters we already know that some parents don't give a fuck about wheelchair users, if they did, they would fold.

Secondly what about those with mobility issues and getting up and down the stairs. Last time I went upstairs, I didn't have mobility issues. Still didn't save me going face first in the stair wall when the driver slammed on the breaks.

Who picks their pram based on public transport?
I did with all 4. Started having children when there was no wheelchair access to buses. And the final one when the spaces were introduced.
The prams were purchased to fold and lightweight to get baby, toddlers and shopping on and off buses. It's really not that hard.

Some parents are ridiculous and don't give two shits about others. They don't fold when a wheelchair, who has priority, needs the space. Leave the pushchair empty and taking up space. Block the doors when they get on even though the space is full. And the poor bastard driver has to deal with it all. Ban the lot unless they have a medical exemption.

And never mind the stupid woman tried getting the pushchair on a none accessible bus and had the balls to argue with the driver and passengers who were telling her it needed to be folded and wouldn't fit. Even more, arguing when the damn thing got stuck. And to top it all off, there was no child in the thing.

Sorry if someone has already mentioned this as I haven’t read through all the posts, but there is a safety issue here, surely. If there was a fire or incident at the back of the bus and there was a large number of strollers and/or wheelchairs near the front exit it could make a fast escape from the bus problematic to say the least.

When buses had luggage areas, they would often become full or pushchairs and luggage.
Lost count of the number of times I would either have it between my legs as I sat, or held it up using my body and the wall or a bar.
Even easier when we moved to the umbrella ones, and I used an old bag strap so it could be carried on the shoulder.

I have in the past been a regular buggy bus user. Annoying though it is I can’t see how they could really change it. On busy busses it’s hard for elderly / disabled / pregnant people to even get on, let alone find a seat. When I was heavily pregnant, I used to get more annoyed with all the fit, young, not-elephant sized (like me) people who clutters up the downstairs instead of going up!

*cluttered. Oh, and obviously you pick your buggy based on lifestyle (including usual mode of transport). Massive, rugged, cross-country thing would not have been suitable in North London but I might have gone for one if I lived in the Highlands.

And, one last thing... I have sometimes taken my baby out of buggy (usually due to screaming) whilst leaving buggy in space as folding it would have meant taking all the shopping out the bottom, bags off the handle, unlatching the cosy toes thing from the straps and using both hands to release the catches whilst holding said screaming baby on a moving vehicle. Have got off the bus Several times to allow a wheelchair user to have the space though. But yes we are all selfish bastards and should be banned.

I picked an easy-to-fold pushchair as I knew I'd be using public transport a lot. I'm lucky enough to have the money to be able to pick and choose though. Not everyone has that option, and regular bus users are more likely to be low income (at least outside London).

Some parents are ridiculous and don't give two shits about others....don't fold... Leave the pushchair empty.... Block the doors... Ban the lot unless they have a medical exemption.

Some young kids make a mess in the bus. Ban the lot of them

Some teenagers are noisy and swear on the bus. Ban the lot of them.

Some young women put their shopping over the seats so you can sit down. Ban the lot of them.

Some young men don't move out of the priority seats when someone needs them more. Ban the lot of them.

Some old men are rude and racist. Ban the lot of them.

Some old women block the walkway with their trolleys. Ban the lot of them.

Funnily enough having babies in a buggy doesn't make me some second class citizen unsuitable to share bus air with you

I meant ban wheeling on pushchairs, not banning people unless there's a medical exemption.

Anyone who deliberately blocks the walkway with trollies, buggies, luggage etc should be told to get off or move where they aren't blocking. They are a trip hazard for everyone. They often block the walkway at the front of the bus in the priority seats, thus also making it difficult for others with mobility etc problems from safely getting past.

Priority seats are there for those who need them. You cannot tell from looking that there is a medical need.
People who put bags on seats should be prepared to have bags squashed when someone goes to sit down. I have done this more than once and I will do it every single time.
Children make mess and parents should be cleaning it up. Same with anyone who makes a mess.
Racists in an ideal world would be escorted off by the police.

I don’t live in London, nor do I use public transport but when I used to; I can relate to your problem. However, i’d Presume during busy hours the bus would get quite full and therefore increasing spaces for prams/wheelchairs would mean that it takes away space for those without prams/WC (and possibly complaints about not being able to get on the bus) and also would be somewhat more of a fire risk in that event.

However, as a mum of an 8 month old. I can’t just fold down my pram one handed. I’d have to take the seat part off, then fold the chassis (both parts requiring use of both hands to dismantle/fold) all whilst holding my 8 month old. It’s a no. However, if she was older and mobile and she was in a stroller then I’d most definitely fold it down.

I was talking about people standing downstairs really. When there are seats above.

I meant ban wheeling on pushchairs, not banning people unless there's a medical exemption
It's still a stupid suggestion imo. I don't have a medical exemption, but why should I collapse my double buggy, prop the car seats on the floor whilst I fold the base, then try to squeeze said two car seats, folded base and bags somewhere so nothing will get damaged on a bus with adequate space?

Make it clear to the drivers that their jobs will be on the line if thry do not enforce the rights of wheelchair users to their spaces. Make it clear to commuters that people refusing to vacate the space for a wheelchair user will be fined.

That's the kind of action it takes because in the majority of buses, it isn't an issue and anyone decent will shift their ass

Honestly I thinks it poor pushchair design being fashionable. I had a McLaren techno xt (model like 15 years old now,) which could fold one handed with baby in arms/on hip.

Then when I had a double a Phil and Ted's so when baby was tiny they came out in bag carrycot thing while I folded the rest of it.

By third baby after a gap all the trendy pushchairs were oversized and fussier to fold. But then I discover proper slings that don't hurt your back and would do full days with baby in sling on and off buses delighting in taking the stairs without bumping up and down.

There’s no way I picked my pram based on public transport, I picked my pram because I like it. I can’t stand those little cheap strollers they are hard to push and flimsy. But then I have no problems with waiting for another bus or getting off for a wheelchair user and do it without fuss.

@PumpkinP Well if you only get non crowded buses or don't mind waiting for the next bus find pick any pram you like. It annoys me though when people buy huge, inconvenient prams then expect buses and doorways to be redesigned to accommodate them.

No I can get my pram on a bus just fine, obviously sometimes two are on but then I just wait for the next one. I would not fold, that looks like a pita tbh, buses are frequent enough where I am to not need to do that.

snowflake generation.

Maybe if people didn't insist on buying these stupid en vogue buggies, which are huge and ridiculous, there would be more space. Then there's the people who have older children that tjey then take out of the buggy and leave the buggy in the space!! As your child is not in there, would it kill you to fold it and take up less space????

I have a Yoyo, it’s a lightweight one-handed fold. I stick it in the luggage rack and sit my toddler on my lap. YABU.

Haha I love these threads storage is defo the problem though and where I live they don't refund you the buss fare for getting off and it's like £4 so when on a very low income not cheap and wheel chair users get on for free

Children under 5 also travel for free.

To people banging about folding, what do you do with a carrycot? You chuck your baby out of a window and chick the carrycot with the baby? And what about s double pram with two of these?

I used the bus yesterday, (in London) on one journey, three wheelchair users got on (at different times) I was using my pushchair (easily collapse if needs be)

The first wheelchair user shouted at me as soon she saw the ramp come down demanding me to get out her space. (I happily while looking confused at her attack, moved as there was enough space for both of us.) I told her she didn't need to be rude as there was enough space for both of us! And there was!

Shortly after another wheelchair wanted to get on, this wheelchair was electric and very bulky, now even though I knew I didn't actually have to get off. I did move my pushchair into the small space behind the seats (it's for luggage, and my pushchair is really thin) so it fit in. However the other wheelchair user could not fit on the bus with the other wheelchair still there. (And no the wheelchair could not have fitted into the luggage space) I got abuse at me yet again even though, nothing I done could have helped another user get on the bus as I was not in the wheelchair space at that point!
At that point I pulled out my tfl staff oyster and told them that I worked for TFL, and that one wheelchair has to get off.

Eventually the remaining wheelchair departed and another wheelchair got on the stop after.

In my 15 years of being London that's the first time I've experienced more than 1 wheelchair user in one journey.

My whole point is, no matter what, pushchair users get abuse for no reason.

I understood that the ‘rule’ of the bus is first come first served - whatever your needs.
If the demand for pushchair and wheelchair users spaces is higher than current design allows then buses should be redesigned to allow for this or else it is discriminatory.