Best/Worst push chair to use in public transports ?

[MamanFlo]

Hello mums !

I am having a baby this spring and I am currently looking for a push chair/travel systems to buy. Being totally allergic to driving (and not even having a car !) I plan to do most of my travel by public transport and I will have to travel to France this summer, probably alone on trains and planes (as DH works and works and works !).

Can you tell me about your experiences ? Good or bad ? best brands ? what is really important to consider in byuing ? your best tips ?

thanks for your help !!!

Flo

As far as I know, the Maclaren Volo is the most lightweight stroller you can get. I love mine but they're only suitable from 6 months so probably not what you're looking for initially. I only used a sling on public transport till DD was big enough for this - our Mamas & Papas Pliko travel system always seemed too bulky, and would definitely have been a nightmare to fold & unfold. Not sure if that helps at all. Good luck!

from observation, 3 wheelers are the worst!

I have a Jane Powertrack which is a 3-wheeler. I didn't have the use of our car when I was on mat leave and had to use public transport all the time. The Jane was totally fine on the train, easy to get on and off, and you just need to watch which carriage you get on so you've got room for the pram. I found that the trains themselves weren't the problem but the stairs at the train station were a killer. You just have to get used to bumping the pram up and down.

On the other hand, I only got the bus one day as it was a total nightmare, really hard to manouevre (sp?) and not very much room at all. You'd be better off with a lightweight buggy I reckon if you're going to be on buses all the time.

I wouldn't rule out a 3-wheeler. I absolutely love my Jane and walked for miles with it.

We never had any problem on bus or train. We started off from birth with a Mamas and Papas Pliko travel system (although we only ever used the car seat and pushchair separately). When ds was big enough we got a McLarens Volo - which is lighter and so easier. But dp had to take our hulking 2 year old on the bus in our old M&P Pliko the other day and was fine. For the tube I used a sling.

I have the Maclaren Triumph stroller, which is brill IMO, 5 second one handed folding, and it is lightweight with a shoulder strap, it's really handy esp. cos we live in a top floor flat with lots of stairs and it's easy to get up and down with it, it reclines aswell, easy to put on raincover.

An umbrella fold buggy is the best, you can get some completely fold flat ones which a newborn can go in, though they do feel a bit 'exposed' compared to a big pushchair. A sling is easiest if your back is up to it.

If you can get a raincover which folds with the buggy this can be a godsend too.

NB Roomy shopping baskets under a pushchair sound like a great idea. But if they have to be emptied in order to fold the pushchair to get onto the bus, they lose some of their appeal.

I had an umbrella fold double buggy when I had two under two, and regularly took it/them on loads of buses and trains.

More public tranport these days has 'easy access', but much still doesn't. Folding a buggy whilst holding a baby, then carrying the folded buggy up steps onto a bus and paying for your ticket is quite a challenge. With a big pushchair it's impossible on your own. A friend of mine (with more guts than me and a reliably friendly bus driver) used to give her baby to the driver to hold, whilst she folded the pushchair and lifted it onto the bus!

three wheelers are easy for walking. not so easy getting up and down a step, for example on the bus or train, but imo their ease for walking overcomes that. most buses are fantastic now, and you just stroll onto them.

Three-wheelers are good for the tube, if not totally polite. They go up and down stairs easier than little prams, in my experience - the inflated tires make "bumping" them up and down stairs easy. But they do take up too much room in the carriage.

And yeah, they're not great for buses.

Have you seen the mumsnet reviews for strollers and lightweight buggies here?

I used a McLaren Tecno for travelling when Ds was tiny - quite light and v manoeverable, more comfy for sleeps than the really small basic umberella folds, quite sturdy. Hood, raincover and option of a sunscreen thing which might be useful if you are going to S of france (but you can get them for lots of buggies) You can also fold and open it with one hand - and a deft kick. You definately do not want anything which needs two hands if you are alone with a baby and have to fold it.

You often have to pick up buggy with child in it (when going up and down steps etc) so practice doing that with a heavy bag in the seat to represent child, and see how easy it is!

I spent ages in John Lewis pushing buggies around, folding and unfolding, carrying them folded....

I have a Jane Carrera C which I used on the bus a few times and for walking miles - we use it at the weekends or if I know I'm not going on the tube now and it lives in DH's boot (of the car - he's not some kind of giant with huge wellies...).

And I now have a Maclaren Quest, which is fab. It has the pull-out leg-rest thingy the Triumph doesn't, so comfier for tired children, but it's lighter than the Techno. Perfect compromise, IMO!