Havw Lothian Buses recently given their drivers a "how to be helpful to buggy users" training session?

[curlygal]

Has anyone else noticed that the bus drivers have suddenly become amazingly helpful?

In the last two days I have been struggling to fold down by buggy to board a bus and the driver has got off the bus and come and helped me.

Both times they helped DS onto the bus, then came back and lifed by buggy on for me.

I almost reeled over in shcok. I thanked them both profusely. Have I just been very fortunate or has there been a volte face in LRT buggy policy? (ie we are no longer the enemy but fare paying passengers like everyone else)

maybe...story in the Evening News today about how draconian their "baby ban" was

I travel a lot with ds and various mindees and I have noticed now that often they will give ds a pretend ticket, and wait until we have all sat down before driving off which is a far cry from having to hang on for dear life as they drove away.

A driver let me on the bus the other day when there was already another buggy

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not sure they have gone back on it officially
Maybe the drivers are just fed up
the wheelchair users dont want to be associated with the baby ban and have left Lothian Buses a bit isolated imho

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I don't know about Lothian buses but I was waiting at the bus stop last week and was moving out of the way when a First bus came, the bus pulled over and the driver said to me 'the answer to your question is yes you can get on with your buggy' - and they actually had a dedicated buggy section as well as the weelchair bit and he dropped the bus down for me to get on easily. It was a brand new bus though and probably the only one they own, all the other First buses I have been on have been old jalopies

I got chatted up by a bus driver the other day (admittedly without a buggy) maybe they are taking this new "being nice" thing too far now!

Hmmm, a couple of bus drivers I encountered last week must have missed that training. I got a dirty look for daring to ask that they lowered the bus so I could get off without tipping DS out the front of his pram and another who waited till I got on the bus and almost put my £1.20 in before grunting at me that there was a buggy on and I'd need to fold mine (DS was asleep so I would happily have waited for the next bus).

That said, one driver was really nice and appreciative when I got off the bus the other day quite happily to let a wheelchair user on.