London public transport with buggy - possible?

[naturelover]

I have a maclaren buggy, can I take it on the tube? What about stairs? Do strangers help you? Buses not feasible for whole journey.

Thanks!

I have tried the tube with a pushchair and a baby - nightmare. Very few people offered to help as they were too busy tutting at me.

I wouldn't rely on the "kindness of strangers" in London, you may be lucky, then again you may not.

It is possible to manage the Tube if you have one of those baby carrier things, collapse and carry buggy and pop baby in a carrier, assuming that s/he is not a strapping toddler.

Buses not so bad, there is room for wheelchairs/baby buggies on them and the floors are not too high to manage.

they open the gate things for you so you don't have to try and push the buggy through the ticket barrier.

i've used the tube lots with pushchairs. maclaren is a pretty light buggy, right?, so you can get it up and down escalators pretty easily on your own if nobody stops to help (though i find once you're 'in town', ie city/west end, more people stop to help). where do you need to get to? there are some disabled access stations which are useful. steps are a bit of a killer in some stations so travel light in case you need to haul it up and down a few stairs.

whereas have had nightmares any time i've tried to use a bus in london... if there's already a pushchair on they ofte won't let you on, or if the bus is busy

I have been across London with a fully laden bugaboo and baby, plus weekend bag of stuff for visiting folks at home. Bus drivers nasty, either let me on but refused to let me use the middle door, so I had to collapse the buggy just to get it down the aisle (wouldn't fit between handrails. sat in tears holding DD while rest of passengers silently killed the driver and said reassuring things to me. or the driver who pointed out where the ticket machine was, then closed the doors in my face as I came back over to the bus (which did have room for me, he was just being a bastard). he then waited 5 minutes before leaving too, no-one else turned up to get on or else I could have got on too. utter creep. another time when I tried the underground I got on a train that stopped for some reason at a station which had no lift and suddenly needed a platform change. i stood weeping while i thought what to do, and someone came and helped me up the stairs.I had carefully planned my journey to only use stations which had disabled access and I was still screwed by the system.

all in all, i realised this is the price you pay for not being a car driver, having a child and trying to go across London. I even booked my connecting train with a whole 2 1/2 hours for crossing the city from paddington to Liverpool street station and still had to run to catch the train in the end.

Not to put you off or anything!!!!

forgot to say, the underground journey was with a maclaren.

I never had a problem on the uderground. I used a mamas and papas pliko then later on a maclaren. I made sure I had my hands free (so usually used a back pack for "stuff") so I could carry buggy either with dd in it or folded. Actually - my maclaren was the Triumph one which has a shoulder strap, so was easy to carry over one shoulder, with dd in my arms if necessary (and dd was a whopping lass).

imo the anticipation is worse than actually doing the journey, and often you are surprised by the kindess of random strangers.

IME you really need a sling or hip-seat. in addition to the buggy. I've always put the baby in the sling whilst on the underground and carried the buggy, folded.

I get the tube all the time with a buggy and it's absolutely fine. People are usually very kind and help you up and down steps but don't expect it. I take my big pushchair if it's mid-day (so quiet) because it's easier to bump down steps but the little maclaren buggy is better if it's going to be busy as it takes up less space on the escalator. And the big buggy is difficult to take on buses. A little maclaren one is fine.

Don't travel at rush hour if you can avoid it (before 9.30am and 4.30-6.30pm).

Ignore the scare stories, it's really fine and I've met some absolutely lovely people

I think I might be living in a different London, but I've always found people to be surprisingly helpful when lugging a buggy around. To generalise wildly, the most helpful groups are a) young black men and b) women of childbearing age. I love relying on the kindness of strangers as it makes me feel that the world is a so much better place than this Daily Mail painted hell of maurading teens and thieving immigrants. Most people are lovely.
I live in London and travel most places by bus, occasionally by tube, so it's not as if this is a one-off experience.

Definitely baby carrier - in any busy city, IME. It probably is possible, but certainly not fun.

I use the tube all the time and it's fine - some stations much better than others. Generally speaking, Jubilee Line stations are best as many of the stations are new and have disabled access so lifts and lots of escalators.

naturelover - is it a specific journey you're trying to do?

PollyParanoia - I appear to be living in the same London as you. My negative experiences are far outweighed by positive ones.

pollyp
am in the same london as you
many folks will help without asking them
use the big gates with staff or some stations have lifts (get map it will show you disabled wheelchair symbol)

just avoid at rush hour
its fine, honest!

buses depends on driver really but have never been refused

Thanks everyone

I have a specific journey in mind for next week (Wimbledon to S. Ken) but to be honest I would like to feel I can go into London more frequently and not be stuck in the suburbs! I've taken buses a lot and most of the time it's been fine. Occasionally I've had to wait for the next one as there have been two buggies on already. Needless to say I will avoid rush hour. DD is too heavy for sling but good idea to fold buggy and carry her up and down stairs (the buggy is light and has shoulder strap). I'll have a look at the tube map to find disabled access symbols - I realise some stations are better than others. If necessary I'm happy to get off a station earlier and walk, if there's a lift.

When DD was tiny I went up a few times using Bjorn and most of the time people were sweet and offered me a seat on the tube. But twice I foolishly came home in rush hour and it coincided with "colic hour". Oh my god that was hell!

Use public transport a lot as live in London. Maclaren fine and generally people and staff helpful. I think it's relative to how confident you feel travelling in london any way. Wimbledon to South Ken should be fine. I Regularly use buses, sometimes you may have to collapse buggies. Escalators and buggy not ideal but do-able. The key is to plan your journey. I would not recommend going across town in rush hour i.e. before 10 and between 4.45 and 6.30 if at possible!

district line at s ken is only a short flight of stairs up at least. Not miles and miles of tunnels and escalators....

I think you will be fine - Wimbledon has lifts down to the District Line platforms for one and loads of mums/toddlers/helpful people get off at south ken for obvious reasons and will help you out...

love the way btw that for you wimbledon is now the suburbs - I've just moved out further and so for me it still seems like town...;-)

Here's another vote for public transport in London. Maclaren's are fab for buses. Tubes are a pain because of steps, but I've never not been helped. Take your time. Avoid rush hour and enjoy seeing the good side of people. I know I sound like some ol'hippy, but I'm not actually, as am usually quite cynical. It's just that having a baby has opened my eyes to how lovely most people are. Go be brave and enjoy London. I'd bet you'll be surprised.

took 3 dc to london onthe train and tube last year -never again it was awful and scary,too many people and not enough space.kids felt dizzy from all the escalators. its up to you but i would advise against it

Yes it is but it is tricky. You have to kind of balance the buggy on the escalator (and heft it up and down stairs). Stations with lifts would be easier, those marked wheelchair accessible on the Tube map much easier.

A sling is MUCH easier and no problems at all Tube, train or bus (though you may have to ask forcefully to get a seat)

It's tricky until you get used to it. Honestly I was a scared mouse to start off with. Strap the child in the buggy, wait for a quiet train/ bus if you can and go for it. It's easy after a few goes. Though I have to agree with boobie - 3 kids in crushed train sounds not a good idea!

It is all to do with timing. Yesterday I got the trin across London at 9.20. Stupid, stupid idea, everyone hated me as it was packed and the buggy was soaking.

Coming home at 4.15, a breeze. Also, when it's quieter, people are more likely to be kindly to you. The rush hour surge seems to make people behave like lemmings, they all get caught up in the rush.

Nightmare in rush hour, most stations do not have lift platform-to-street access

I regularly help Maclaren users up and down steps

Though I confess to not being very proactive in helping people with large 3-wheelers. I used to but the last one I helped nearly did my back in