Is anyone else bus-phobic when it comes to taking pushchair on?

[SalBow]

I really need to confront my fear of buses. Have never taken pushchair on, ds is now 8 months. Feeling a bit isolated during weekdays as I don't have a car, but scared of taking pushchair on the bus. It's about half hour to the city centre.
What do you do if there is already another one on there, is there only room for one? Would I have to ask people to move if they are in the seats near the pushchair bit, or should they move without asking?
Will the bus driver ask me to collapse it (impossible with 8 month in tow!)?
What if ds screams inconsolably?
Can you go on the ones that don't have the buggy-friendly sign on the side, or do you just wave them by?
It's a mine-field! Please teach me!
(I know it's a bit pathetic and I'm a grownup etc!)

you might be expected to fold it if there is another push chair around or if it is not a buggy friendly one. - Give ds to driver to hold while you collapse the buggy.
At this age they absolutely love the bus and if after 9.30 all the oldies will really enjoy flirting with him

Check with your bus company about the buses they use on your route - almost all these days have the floors that drop down to kerb level and at least 2 spaces for pushchairs. I use buses a couple of times a week and have never had to collapse the pushchair (very occasionally an older bus will turn up but I don't get on those as it is too much hassle and our buses run every 6 minutes anyway). If people are sitting in the pushchair bit they nearly always move without asking, and if they don't I ask them to move - no one has ever been rude to me. Most people have made a big fuss of my DS. I have been travelling by bus for 21 months now and only one person has made a comment "These bloody things are a nuisance" - not to me but within my hearing - but he was a rude old git and not just about me, so I didn't care

I never used the bus until we moved out to a village and downsized to one car. I take the pushchair on the bus frequently and our buses are the old fashioned ones which you can't wheel the chair onto. You have a right to ask the bus driver to help and anyone to move who is in a designated seat.

Best tip is to remember you have as much right to travel as the next person and ignore any tuts or grumbling if it takes time to get on

yes just take your time, tbh many of the passengers will be pensioners going into town just for something to do. Avoid travelling after 3 though as teenage school + college children can be a bit boisterous (at least they are round us)

Thanks people. That's very helpful!
At the moment I just have a quinny buzz which you can't collapse without taking it apart. Will have to invest in something smaller and lighter, then may be brave enough!

how about a sling or carrier?

at 8 months, a soft structured carrier would be a good move...

makes life dead easy, especially if you're only going for a few bits....

a tip for doing the bus is to avoid over loading your buggy with stuff for just in case....have everything in one rucksack/messenger style bag so you can just pop it on yourself if you need to fold the buggy. most people will not go out of their way to be nasty, but stick to your guns...don't get flustered and be confident!

i found a sling great but a carrier a bit pants as hard to take off in the bus + could not sit down with it

Sling would be ok if DS wasn't such a lump. He outgrew the carrier when he was a bout 3 months unfortunately.

have a look at something like an ergo if you like the idea of a carrier...i carry my 22 month old everywhere instead of buggyng...can even carry my 4 1/2 yo if i need to!

at 8 months...you can stll carry him on your front or hip to make it easier to sit on the bus, or use it solo.

Thanks, have just had a look at the ergo, looks good!

there are lots of other styles around...they are called soft structured carriers (ssc)

look here

Avoid rush hour, be brazen and brave, stand in the aisle if you have to, ask people to move if you need to, and don't worry if DS makes a racket - it's public transport not top seats at the opera!
You don't say which city but in London you couldn't give your baby to the driver to hold - if ever asked I would get off and wait for the next bus to be honest. Easier than struggling.

In smaller cities than London you can hand dc to the driver or to a fellow-passenger. When dd was little there were no easy access buses and we didn't have a collapsible buggy, so I used to have to take her pram apart (put dd on the pavement and lift the carrycot part off the wheels) before the bus arrived. Ah, happy days!

A lot easier these days- though now dd is in a wheelchair so takes up more room. Still, we manage; once you've done it a couple of times it doesn't affect your stress levels so much.

Salbow - I have a Quinny buzz and have been fine on buses (I'm in London). I avoid the rush hour and have never been asked to fold the buggy. Double decker buses are easy, buggy can be pushed down aisle and parked. The single decker suburban buses are smaller but there the driver will let you get on through the back door. People have always moved if in the buggy space and the only time the person didn't move (was clearly a tourist) the other passengers told him off in no uncertain terms! I travel both locally and in the City and have found it really easy, honestly the tube is much more of a PITA. But would never travel anywhere close to rush hour!

I hate hate hate taking the buggy on buses. Logistically, it's easy - practically all our buses are those low floor ones but I spend all my time at the bus stop worrying that there'll be other buggies on and then when I get on I spend my time worrying about other buggies getting on and how I will collapse my buggy if I need to - I can't relax!

I have a Phil and Teds which I would never attempt to use on the bus (except to my mum's house as she has about 10 buses an hour and they are all empty) as it takes up too much space and is really hard to fold. I have an old Graco Citsport I use. Agree that you need to keep bags to a minimum in case you have to fold the buggy. Take a few bribes snacks for your ds too. People are generally helpful, drivers here have not usually attended charm school though...

Hi there, I'm also bus-buggy phobic. We have a buzz and I agree - would be useless to take on a bus if you had to fold it. Where we live buses are often very busy and the one non-folded-buggy slot has already been taken, that means waiting and waiting and waiting for the next one to come along. Which is often already taken . . . .

I also have a lump of a child (now 10 months) and would definitely second others in finding a soft structured carrier that works for you. We quite happily manage to hop on and off the bus now - we have a backback that I use on my front or back depending on where he is and it works quite well. And the other passengers love it!

If you want to go down the buggy route then we have recently bought a zia - it seems to be a copy styled on the quinny zapp but collapses much more easily and is reclinable. (But agree with bamboo - I would still find it so anxiety provoking waiting at the bus stop, worrying about collapsing it . . . )

Hi thanks everyone,
I am very anxiety-prone at the best of times so would definitely be sitting at the bus stop imagining every nightmare scenario! Ooh, I hadn't even thought about managing to get on and then having to collapse it if someone else gets on!
I live on the outskirts of Norwich. I really like the idea of a carrier. Only trouble is my back isn't great and if I was going in to the city, would probably be planning on walking around for a while. DS now weighs 21lb and growing fast.
Oh, what about taking him on the bus in a carrier, but taking a little pre-folded buggy with me? That might work!

That could be a solution for you- sounds like a sensible idea. Even in my phobic anxiety provoking state I can see how it would be less stressful to just carry on the buggy already folded and dump it in the luggage bit. Go for something super lightweight (i'm not a rep for zia or anything, but it is very light indeed) and that collapses neatly.

But do experiment with carriers - my DS is 24 lbs, very long, and I don't have a great back either. It took us a while to find the carrier that works for us (you can hire different ones from various places) and my back got worse when I kept him in a stretchy wrap for too long. Now we use a woven wrap if he is on the front and needs a nap, or we use either a mei-tai (kozy or babyhawk) for front and back out and about carries.

My advice would be to get a cheap foldable buggy (the kind that mothercare do for £20), and take a backpack for shopping + baby stuff. Take a friend the first few times to help you + hold your hand. Get into the habit of folding the bugggy and then you will not be scared of having to it.