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?

To people banging about folding, what do you do with a carrycot? you don't, you buy a cheap foldable one, regardless of how suitable it is for your childs size, regardless of the lack of support they offer to your newborn because your baby matters the least in any given scenario.

And what about s double pram with two of these I'm sure you can shove the twins in one collapsible together or else just don't go out. Mothers with buggies don't have anywhere important to go

I understood that the ‘rule’ of the bus is first come first served - whatever yourneeds.
No.
Wheelchair users have a legal right to use their designated space.
People with pushchairs should be allowed use of their space
People with additional needs should be allowed the use of the priority space.

But it's infuriating when mum & buggy cause upheaval on a crowded bus to be fitted in - and then mum rings the bell to get off at the very next stop!

If you regularly use public transport you don't buy a pushchair with a seperate carry cot, you buy one of the plenty that are on the market that are suitable from birth but are one piece. They also can be folded one handed. 🤷‍♀️

@twofingers - what is discriminatory is not allowing wheelchair users to use the wheelchair space. Parents and buggies are not a protected characteristic.

I do think there should be a bit of a middle ground, though where parents with buggies can use the wheelchair space if not in use and buses could have a seperate pushchair space (most of our buses now have that). Yes, some parents find it easy to fold a buggy while holding the shopping and the baby and toddler, some are able to sit with the buggy, the baby, toddler and shopping on their lap. But some struggle so why not make it easier for some parents. I understand about it being a sensible idea to have a smaller foldable buggy if using a bus but I did at times use my larger pushchair when doing the shopping as it had a larger basket underneath and you could hang bags on the handles without it tipping over if the child got out.

@saffronshawty I see your point, they shouldn't be rude to you but with the smaller buggy you could manoeuvre it to allow the 2nd WC user in the space.
Though if you had a huge pram that wouldn't fold the 2nd WC wouldn't fit.
Do you think it is right for a large pram to take up the 2nd WC space considering the WC can't hop out and fold it.
The bus man should not have tried to allow the 3rd on.
There days you can buy a good light stroller for a NB, or bring a sling.

The problem with allowing those with buggies to use the space when it isn’t needed by a wheelchair user is that too often a small minority of parents will refuse to move creating issues where they shouldn’t be.

I rarely use the bus thankfully but a few years ago I did encounter a lovely bus driver who refused to move until the mum with a buggy in the wheelchair space had vacated it.

It isn't the law, though these spaces are usually marked WC.
It is down to the individuals moral compass. I'd make the journey keeping in mind I might need to move, so come prepared.

I've only ever seen a bus with one wheelchair space as it has to go with the back to the headrest - another wheelchair user couldn't use it even if they could squeeze in.

I agree bus drivers should refuse to move the bus until the wheelchair space is vacated if a wheelchair user needs it.

I don't think it is always as easy as some say - I fold my buggy and put it in the luggage rack. Lots of buses don't have a luggage rack so the only space to put the folded buggy is the wheelchair or pushchair space. Once the shopping is on the floor there too and the parent and child standing in the space they take up as much room as if the buggy was unfolded. If a wheelchair user then needs the space it will take longer for them to vacate than if they could just wheel the buggy off the bus (and there still the issue of some refusing to move) so I don't think it makes sense for all parents with pushchairs to have to automatically fold them.

too often a small minority of parents
But it's a small minority. So unless I can ban every pensioner from having a wheeled trolley because a small minority block the way, and 20 something men of whom a small minority man spread across the seat and refuse to move etc then how is it reasonable to ban all erect pushchairs when you concede yourself the majority aren't an issue?

Because there are enough that are an issue that it means many people who rely on a wheelchair have issues regularly when travelling.

Personally I would be happy with drivers making it clear “you can get on the bus but the only space is the one allocated for wheelchairs so if a wheelchair user needs to get on you will need to either leave the bus or fold your pram” and then enforcing it. Make it clear that If someone not in a wheelchair makes the choice to use that space then that is the risk they are taking

@SIRZY SO then thry should enforce it. I should be effectively banned from using a bus because Mandy in Dorwich is a self entitled idiot. I'm all up for on the spot fines and buses refusing to move.

For whomever said there's rarely competition for spaces, two buses have gone past us full of buggies so it's taken an hour to catch the bus. Lunch time on a Sat so not exactly peak

Try being the person in a wheelchair with a baby. Much fun!
Basically your screwed. You can't use a baby carrier past 9 months or you can't push yourself. You can't push yourself and a push chair.

I think making all of downstairs a priority area is brilliant. Buggy using travellers were always regarded as the pariahs of the bus system when in actual fact they were on the whole another potentially vulnerable group. You shouldn’t have to make do with folding down. There should be enough prioritised seating for everyone.
Folding down with a weeks worth of shopping, an olde child and a sleeping baby is not an easy solution.

@Merryweather80 - how do you manage?

@SantaBuddy I was about to raise the same point. I have various joint issues, so despite the fact that I do own a single handed, umbrella fold buggy, and a baby wrap, there are some days where my level of pain means I genuinely cannot manage to fold it. It's not simply the folding of the pram, it's then having to carry DD (16 months, so old enough to stand, but not steady enough to stand on a moving bus, even with her hand held), our bag (huge as DS is potty training with the associated several changes of clothes and we all require various medications to be carried with us), and adequately supervise DS who is 3 with suspected ASD while also standing up, and holding on to my folded pram, as there are no racks to put it in.

Not getting my tiny violin out at all, but just because your children aren't physically disabled, doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have a need to be able to wheel a pram onto the bus sometimes.

That being said, most of the buses here have a pram space in addition to a wheelchair space, and I don't use the wheelchair space on a day where I can't fold the pram down, I wait for the next bus.

@UndertheCedartree
I don't my dear, I'm afraid we don't go out much unless I have the car (hubby needs it to get to work) or someone with me. I'm saving for a device that clips to the front of my standard all-terrain chair that turns it into an electric. At 6k though it's a pretty hefty price tag, cheaper and less space wasting than a new fully electric wheelchair. I could still use the sling or hold my baby in one arm while I operate the controls. It would be the independence I need and crave.
Many people won't move their prams and push-chairs out of the wheelchair space. Busses here are three hourly, so it's a long wait in the cold and rain. Taxi service is none existant and expensive as it's quite far to get to the nearest large town or city. It's easily £20 each way.

Peapod because your 3 year is has suspected ASDA you would be more then entitled to use a buggy as a wheelchair in tne same way SN buggys are used as wheelchairs for older kids. Some conditions mean kids need a buggy even tho their condition dosent affect them physically it's to contain them safely.

@Merryweather80 - I'm sorry to hear how hard it is. The device that clips to the chair sounds great - but so expensive! I hope you are able to get it as soon as possible. People not moving out the wheelchair space makes me so angry - that must make life so much harder!

Peabod in your situation please don't continue to fold the buggy, it's extremely difficult dealing with a child with ASD please don't make it harder on yourself when you don't need to. If your child is under investigation maybe ask for a letter from your GP or the diagnosis team explaining why your child needs to use a buggy as a wheelchair.

I dont agree that if theres a pram on already and someone in a wheelchair wants to get on that I should have to get off and then pay again for my journey whilst disrupting it.

Because pushing a pram is exactly the same as having a disability. If you intend to use a bus buy a pram you can fold, on your own, while holding a baby.

Wheelchair users have fought for years to be allowed on public transport. What did you do to get a buggy space?

The law says the bus companies need wheel chair spaces, the law does not say the bus company has to provide buggy spaces.

Buggies are allowed on the bus in the wheelchair space as a courtesy, in the same way that children paying half fare have to stand if a full fare paying adult gets on the bus (yes I know in London they don't pay).

i wish that parents were not allowed to use the wheelchair space at all.
the whinging"why should I have to get off if a wheelchair user needs the space" proves that mummies think they have a right to it.
unless you are in a wheelchair fold the buggy or get off....
leave the space for the people it is for.
your buggy your choice.

DS isn't in the pushchair, he likes to walk, but I have a buggy board with seat on the back where I can contain him if needs be. It's more needing a safe space for DD who is only 1 if I need to chase him/pick him up. She got injured several times while in the wrap when I had to physically move DS mid melt down. Even on a good day for me physically, some days can be incredibly hard if not impossible without my pushchair.

In that case peabod I still say you have every right to keep the buggy up. Maybe still have a chat with your GP about a letter to cover your need on buses. Autistic meltdowns are tough esp when you have anot her child to care for. Do what works for you.

The problem as I see it is that people have 4x4 buggies, rather than just a normal pushchair. They're fucking massive. They appear to be complicated affairs which would require Goliath to collapse too. I don't see the logic in that.

As for getting stuck behind them in shops with narrow aisles........? Fuck no.