Very specific pushchair question for London public transport users

[mrsbabookaloo]

I know the pushchair/buggy/stroller question has been done to death, but I've read all the mumsnet reviews and I'm still confused. I'm a first time mum due in June, I live in London in a groudn floor flat, don't own a car, will probably be using bus more than tube or train and walking a lot too. All the mumsnet advice says if you're using public transport you should get a buggy that's light and folds down easily, but you don't fold your buggy when you get on a bus, you just wheel it on. So is weight still imnportant? I think it would be more important if you had a car, and had to fold it up and lift it into the boot.
I don't want anything flashy, or to spend more than 300 quid: simple, classic looking is more my style. I quite wanted to go for a basic lightweight pushchair from birth, but my mum pointed out that they are all forward facing and it's nice to have baby facing you at first, isn't it?
So, London transport users, what do you think? Is there some vital thing I haven't thought of? What do you recommend for my lifestyle? Should I just go for a sling instead?
Sorry for long post and thanks to anyone who can help!

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Hello,

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MNHQ

hi, I live in london too. I mainly use the bus to get around, tubes with a buggy nightmare well the stations without escalator or lifts are!

I think it's generallt easier to have a lightweight pushchair, and one that isnt too bulky so getting on and off buses isnt hard. I have never folded my pushchair up if the bus is full I'd rather wait for another than hold the baby and faff around with buggy.

I think it is nice to have baby facing you in the early days, Thats why I've got a mamas amd papas pramette it converts from a pram into a pushchair (easily too!) and is easy to move and light.

have you got a john lewis near you, there are good for demonstrating pushchairs. (I bought mine online though £100 cheaper than john lewis)

on short days out when baby is young a sling is probably a good idea you wont have to worry about space for a buggy.

I hope this helps.

hi, I live in london too. I mainly use the bus to get around, tubes with a buggy nightmare well the stations without escalator or lifts are!

I think it's generallt easier to have a lightweight pushchair, and one that isnt too bulky so getting on and off buses isnt hard. I have never folded my pushchair up if the bus is full I'd rather wait for another than hold the baby and faff around with buggy.

I think it is nice to have baby facing you in the early days, Thats why I've got a mamas amd papas pramette it converts from a pram into a pushchair (easily too!) and is easy to move and light.

have you got a john lewis near you, there are good for demonstrating pushchairs. (I bought mine online though £100 cheaper than john lewis)

on short days out when baby is young a sling is probably a good idea you wont have to worry about space for a buggy.

I hope this helps.

I'm a non-driving mum who has done buses until I am blue in the face over the past six years, and these are my tips to consider:

If you haven't already done so, start scoping other people's pushchairs when out and about. Who can get off and on buses easily? Whose buggy gets wedged in the aisle on some of the single deckers, who has to beg the driver to let them on through the back doors (often to be met with a sneer and a foot on the accelerator...)

I agree totally about the folding thing, but for me width of buggy was critical for my local buses. Weight is a factor if you end up using trains (esp. overground) or the tube occasionally. You never notice all those steps leading over bridges and under platforms until you have a buggy with you...

And all those NCT meets - new friends in basement flats, trips to cafes...seriously, I dreaded one outing to Greenwich weekly because the friend seemed to live at the foot of the world's crumbliest, steepest, Georgian brick steps...

You might end up having a c-section which, initially at least, will affect your ability to manoeuvre a heavier buggy comfortably.

To be brutally honest being able to see my children was the least of my worries - I was more concerned about them plunging Odessa Steps-style down some huge drop. I did not find the facing away thing a major problem - most light buggies have windows in the hoods now anyway.

If you really are going to spend lots of time on buses then think twice about space-hogging three-wheelers unless you want to be hated by lots of other passengers. Get a Maclaren Techno XT and put a sheepskin in it. This worked for dd and we never found a bus we couldn't sneak on to.

If you are going to walk lots more than get buses, then the better manoeuvrability of a good three-wheeler must be hard to beat I guess.

I did indeed use a sling for both of them (Baby Bjorn) until they were 8 months old - for any trips where a decent nap was not needed. And provided your back is up to it, they are excellent, esp. for cross-town trips.

HTH Welcome to Mumsnet :)

whoops didnt mean to post twice.

Thanks me23 and Marina: I'm definitely not bothered about a trendy 3 wheeler, and interested to note that you mention the pramette and the maclaren, which are my two main contenders for different reasons. Going shopping with my mum this weekend!

Another top tip anticipated then - we took a fellow non-driving experienced mum (friend, not my own, she had a Silver Cross and thinks folding buggies have led to the decline of modern society ), and her advice was very, very helpful. Good luck!

One word of warning, though. Our local buses (stagecoach) only allow one buggy on at a time. Fine if you are more central, but if the bus you want only comes every 10-12 minutes, two buses come along with a buggy, on a cold winters day you are going to become very bitter. Think Marina's idea is a good one, or a light weight graco. But again, beware of the width, some of the buses have very narrow alleyways and I had to replace my first buggy for this very reason. I suspect you will prefer walking as I have found the whole bus thing very fraught. I personally prefer to get the underground where there is a lift, and walk to wherever I go. Or, get DP to come!

Good luck!

Another endorsement for the Maclaren Techno. It's so narrow it can usually snick into a buggy bay even if there's already a buggy in there

I've rung TfL, Flossam, on this subject. They say there's no rule against a 2nd buggy in the buggy bay, it's down to 'the discretion of the driver'

So if I am refused entry, I say things like, 'I'm sure your mother would be very proud of you'

Go, bp. round my way, in the outer burbs, they are usually OK with two buggies, especially if you have a Maclaren-type. I find it is other passengers who are prone to chuntering sadly :(

I ended up using a sling (but not a baby bjorn, a kelty kangaroo which has lumbar support, a clip on bag and raincover) for as long as possible, then a maclaren techno for buses (which is skinny enough to get down the aisle).
But to be honest, I ended up walking as much as possible, and so also had a fantastic trendy three wheeler which was fab to push for the 6 or more mile walk to the shops and back.

I have noticed the signs aren't up anymore. But don't have enough faith in bus drivers to be helpful TBH. But thanks for that BP. Still very hard to argue though! 'I am arguing with your discretion!'

Agree with comments re: other passengers. Last time I tried to get on the bus I was blocked from getting on (I was near the front of the queue but kept getting barged back) and one bloke who pushed in said - go to the back doors, you can get on there... he honestly thought the driver would open the rear doors for me to get on.
When I finally got on, via the front door, there were loads of people standing in the buggy bay despite there being free seats..but they still tutted and muttered when I asked them to make space...grrr.
Rant over!

I'd say def don't rely on the sling, you may well be too tired/ be uncomfortable, youy don't want to be carrying shopping & a baby. I personally liked the sling for small strolls out, but preferred pushchair. I also lived in London whwen I had ds1 & thought I would be using mainly buses, and in fact I rarely did, just too much agro , mainly walked everywhere, so the lightweight one I got was totally inappropriate.

My mum suggested a sturdy big thing and a little buggy too. I totally poo pooed her, still; remember how rude I was . Wish I'd listened now.

Thanks everybody for your advice: very helpful, although I'm very indecisive! I don't think I need to worry too much about carrying shopping, as I'm already in the habit of ordering online for delivery. It's great if you don't have a car. Not that I never visit a supermarket, but I never have to carry heavy stuff.

It has its downsides (not the brilliantly supportive for the child in it being one of them) but my Micralite has been invaluable on London buses. It's lightweight and can nip into a space with another buggy already there, or can be manoeuvred easily to make room for someone coming on. You can turn it in tight spaces too. I used a sling for the first couple of months though.

I'd go for the buggy you want, don't worry too much about transport - you will get the hang of it if you try. I've done tubes, buses and trams with a three wheeler tandem. if I can't get it down the middle, I take it on the back, if they wont let me I wait for the next one - there is always plenty around in London anyway. Weight wasn't an issue as I never had to lift it. Three wheelers do ahev an advantage that you can bump them up and down stairs and the handbrake is handy for escelators. But something like the pramette, you should be able to lift up stairs fairly easily.

I have a different pov tbh - though you may want to discount it as I was mainly a walking tube and taxis kind of gal rather than a bus user.

In the same circumstances again I would definatly buy a buggy that had a detachable car seat. Whilst I ddin't have a car, I did use minicabs som etimes, and having to lug my car seat around as well as the buggy was a real pain. we also did quite a lot of trips by train to my parents, and we would get the tube to the station, carrying the car seat, then go on the intercity train, where we would have dd in the car seat on the table as the aisles are too narrow to keep the buggy up, then keep her in the car seat for the car journey to my parents rural home.

I live in central london and use the bus almost exclusively. I had ds2 when I moved here so did it from birth. To be honest, one thing no-one has mentioned is that you may need more than one pushchair. We also walk a lot and I got a lovely Emmaljunga two in one pram. It is a nightmare on the bus (though technically possible to get on it) and I also have a Mamas and Papas Pulse (buggy). I would deciede which to use based on where I was going. As he got older, I mostly used the buggy. I too very very rarely fold as itis usually loaded with stuff so foldability was not an issue. However, the smaller buggies can easily fit side by side if you have a driver nice enough to let you on. With a larger pushchair, there is no way they would let you on if there was already another on there. I always said I would only have one, but now have three. I really think there is an advantage to choice.

i live in london, don't drive, and had exactly the same buggy concerns as you. me23 summed up my answer perfectly! i borrowed a m&p system which was a pram to start with (which is definitely lovely when they are teeny), and then a pushchair, but we additionally had a narrow lift concern that we had to address. IF I didn't have the narrow lift, I would have gone for a jane 3 wheeler with the lie down carseat/pram bit (someone else here will be able to tell you what it's called...). Much better quality than the m&p in my opinion, but I will still happy with the m&p on loan....

sorry, meant to type "was" still happy with the m&p....

orqngina is talkign about the jane powertrack with matrix car seat. I had the jane powertwin with rebel car seat (they don't lie flat)

\link{http://www.lullabys.co.uk/shop/erol.html#1043x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.lullabys.co.uk%252Fpushchairs.htm\this} is the pushchair and
\link{http://www.shoppersworld.co.uk/store/product.asp?s=412&d=2281&p=30406&c=3&s1=0&s2=0&s3=0\this} is nearly the same one with the lie flat car seat pram bit with it....

kelly is right! and I think I have just linked you to two slightly different jane models, sorry !

they are great pushchairs, I love mine!

I would vote for the Maclaren Tecchno (XT or Classic). I don't live in london, but my nanny does take this pushchair on the bus a few times a week. It lies flat so is suitable from birth, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and you will still like it when the baby is 6 months old.