Mountain Buggy question -URGENT!!! Is it too big for the bus??

[itchyncsratchy]

urgent because I need to leave the house!
I have a mountain buggy with carrycot and I've only used it on walks so far, noticed in local shops it is massive compared to other prams/ pushchairs.
I'm scared to try to get on the bus with it and it's too big, resulting in lots of tutting and comments. My weepie hormones won't be able to stand it...

So please anyone who knows about these things reply, otherwise can I take it in a taxi? Have carseat but no adaptor for pushchair.. so do taxis let you take unrestrained babies in carrycots?

anyone there?

Wouldn't have thought the taxi would object but it's probably not safe...

where are you going, i.e. will there be trollies you can just put the car seat in once you get there and leave the buggy at home?

I'm still pg and mountain buggy is still in it's wrapper, but re buses they have to be designed now to take these big electric wheelchairs so I'm sure it will be ok?

Sorry i can't be of more help. Will prob pick your brains re mountain buggy use in the near future if that's ok!

Not sure what the buses are like near you, but you can get anything on a London Bendy bus, I promise.

well I found out it fits easily in a black cab but I really don't want to do that often. Prefer her to be in the car seat.

But still like to know if the MB fits in a bus. The buses here are double deckers.

Here, they won't allow big pushchairs because they restrict access for wheelchairs. If I was going on the bus, I'd take a different pushchair or a sling. My mountain buggy is huge. Not to mention that, if you had to take it apart on the bus you'd get v.stressed I think. I had to do it with a bugaboo on a double decker and never again! Is there money for a cheapo maclaren etc?

ah, I was thinking the same thing. I once saw someone on the bus with a Jane slalom that was very big but I know that if I was to get me and the baby all ready for a trip out, wait at the stinky windy bus stop with our bloody correct change etc.. I'd burst into tears if the driver wouldn't let us on the bus. And If all the oldies started moaning about my huge pushchair it could push me over the edge..
It is only 2 weeks since birth, I'm awash with hormones!

Well, when you are feeling brave again, Itchy, Mountain Buggies fit very well on our buses. They are the ones with the 3 fold-down seats at the front where pushchairs/wheelchairs go.

If you get equally sensible parents in the slots next to you, you can still fit 3 buggies; all it takes is a bit of shuffling

Awww, itchy, sorry to be so negative. I do know my friend got her double on the bus ok (it was one of the long ones, not a tandem) but she would often have to wait for the next bus if there were already pushchairs on. She didn't have a choice if she wanted to go into town etc. What about hanging around the bus stop you want to go from for a little while & seeing whether they're full of buggies, what kind of size they are etc. Or if a bus stops for someone else, stick your head in and ask if they'd accept your mb. No stress there, if they say no, you weren't hyped up for a bus ride anyway!

I have never actually tried to get my mb on a bus for same reasons as you and I don't have post-birth hormones! Is there someone who can drive you where you want to go, mum, sis etc? Could you get someone to come with you the first time so then you know the territory and would feel less stressed next time? I used to get so nervous about little trips out, but someone else with me used to make it all seem more relaxed somehow. Another tip is to have the baby in a sling so if you need to be manoevring or folding etc you're not trying to do it one-handed.

But, but, Accessorize - they do fit. It really is no stress. I do accept that you need to let the baby hormones subside, but I have never had a problem, ever.

Happy to be corrected I'm not in London, buses are different here (width at entrance particularly, I got stuck with a bugaboo) and they have just announced that they wont allow the big ones on so I'm not going to try! Itchy sorry if I'm putting you off, I do understand where the hormones are coming from though. I couldn't fold my pushchair (had a Jane powertrack with ds1) nor fit the car seat so I didn't go in the car for 2 months until I bought a maclaren! I wish now I hadn't let stuff like that get in the way of going out which is really good for your mental health!

i have taken my mountain buggy on the bus hundreds of times. and i've never folded it.

Me neither Hoxton!

Accessorize - that's crap (should illuminate: not what you said, what the buses have said about not allowing big pushchairs )

What I do know for sure is that it seems an impossible task to go out with a newborn. I think you are right that it fels better with a bit of moral support.

Tell you what Itchy - tell me what bus companies operate in your area and I will find out their bus spec and their policy for you - how's about that?

I must admit when I first heard about, I was outraged. But they were looking at it from the point of view of wheelchair users who were struggling cos people were buying massive pushchairs then taking up half the bus with them. I can't quite remember all the arguments, but I did think that I didn't buy my mb (pushchair no.5 anyway) to go on the bus, but if I was looking for something bus-friendly here that wouldn't be it!

and absolutely agree about impossible=newborn+going anyway. I used to get out at 5.30pm for weeks and weeks and having to be an appointment before noon would make me dizzy with stress. Hard to believe I'm out the door with both of them by 8 on work mornings.
Is this your first itchy?

i travel daily on london bus with bugaboo cameleon, and honestly have never seen a mountain buggy on a bus - dont know why but hunch is that the front wheel is kinda big

the bendy buses are indeed bigger so that might be a very useful hint..hth

cameleon is great on london bus can fit in behind fixed rail, flip handle bar for more room, cameleon fits easily adjaacent most regular prams

quiny buzz struggle on ldn bus - wide wheels base too wide

Here, despite the area for pushchairs being dualled with the one for wheelchirs, there has been not one single wheelchair user on the buses in all the time I have been going on the bus with the MB. If I can fit my MB on with two other buggies, it seems a little unthinking to ban them, unless 3 wheeler-pushers think they have the right to take up the lot! How rude!

lol at that Accessorize - me too. I used to be able to get out by 2pm though

I should add something here - I bought my MB as my priority was to be able to still walk the dog over dill and hale and much lesser pop into town. So I suppose my town visits were relatively infrequent, I have to say.

itchyncsratchy - do you have bendy buses in your area

my experience is outwith peak time u can get on ok with pram, and if u are only pram no problemo

from TFL website
www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/transportaccessibility/1171.aspx

Buggies
Low-floor buses are designed to allow buggies to remain unfolded in the wheelchair space, since this is the only place in which they can travel safely. If somene in a wheelchair wishes to board, and the wheelchair space is occupied by standing passengers or buggies, standing passengers will be asked to make room lease make sure that buggies are safely positioned within the designated area. Unfolded buggies cannot travel in the gangway.

Wheelchair users have priority over everyone else for use of the wheelchair space. If someone in a wheelchair wishes to board, and the wheelchair space is occupied by standing passengers or buggies, standing passengers will be asked by the driver to make room if possible, buggy owners will be asked to fold them and put them in the luggage space or keep them by their side.

If you have a buggy, you should be able to board any low-floor bus unless (in the driver`s opinion) it is so crowded that there is no room for you to travel safely. You will only be refused admittance when it is absolutely necessary. NO ONE ALREADY TRAVELLING WILL BE ASKED TO GET OFF THE BUS. (my capitals)

Bit late, but I can confirm that there is one type of single deck London bus (It's the 184 in my area...) which is slightly too narrow for a MB, just as you get to the back doors. Slightly embarrassing, but all I did was reverse down the gangway and ask the driver to let me on the back. Now I just touch my Oyster and ask politely for them to open the back door as the buggy is too wide for the aisle.

Other single deck models are fine.

o yep the 184 shoppers delight to wood green -get it frequently

hiya all, thanks for all the info. I'm in Edinburgh at the moment and most buses I've noticed have a wheelchair sticker on the door so I assume the MB will fit.

Still haven't tried the bus yet will try with dp.

when i travelled e'burgh buses they made me get on/off front door so lots of excusey to get off maybe wheelchair on/off at back door

Hi there, I am in Edinburgh as well and although I don't take a lot of buses, I have managed to fit on quite a few with my Jane Powertrack, which isn't the most slimline of prams. I think that you should be fine as the buses are now all built to accommodate wheelchairs now, this also means most high street shops have lovely wide aisles. Provided you wait for a new bus, and avoid those old maroon buses that they resurrect occasionally you should be cool.
Most buses lower the step for you to get on and are quite helpful and just ding the bell a lot to make sure they wait for you to get off . I think it might be a good idea to try to find someone to go with the first couple of times, until you feel more relaxed. People honestly don't tut if you get on with a larger pram, and if you go on the bus after 9:30 you are more likely to get lots of old dears cooing over your baby. In fact, that would be an excellent time to go on your first journey, because practically everyone getting on requires help getting up the step.
Which buses are you most likely to take, do you think?