14 replies to this topic

[Apparelyzed]

Labour's latest public menace: Mothers with baby buggies on the bus

Mothers with buggies face a crackdown in a government campaign to improve the public transport 'experience'.

Officials have identified parents with prams as a priority target, alongside passengers who drink or smoke.

Inconsiderate bus drivers are also under scrutiny, because some are sending older passengers sprawling by accelerating away from stops, according to the Department for Transport.

In a consultation paper issued yesterday, officials identified mothers with buggies as a source of trouble because they often park their pushchairs in spaces reserved for wheelchairs.

More: http://www.dailymail...overnment.html#

[Tetracyclone]

I'm glad to read that Britain is not "broken". Only broke.

[ADP-10-08-63]

but since a driver from london buses recently got stabbed asking wheather the owner's could move there buggy for a wheelchair the owners reacted stabbing the driver in the leg
now it is a policy with arriva buses that drivers do not ask the buggy owners to move it down to the wheelchair user
this has now been endorsed at 5 arriva garrages where i live.
if you have a 1 hour be prepared it will take you up to 3 1/2 hours to get to your destanation

[Ratticis]

Well it doesn't matter if a wheelchair user gets stabbed in the leg, they don't use them anyway *rolls eyes*

[ADP-10-08-63]

they would push you you of the bus to avoid the paper work mountain

[Karl187]

See that bloody Mumsnet website...they're like a pack of hyenas.

First they want more 'Mother & Child' spaces and one of the solutions for this was to cut down on the number of disabled spaces. Yeah, thats fantastic.

Does anyone here remember when there was no such thing as a 'Mother & Child' space- my mum managed to get me and my brother out of the car and into buggies etc from a normal space when we were kids and my cousin with three young kids can manage it without a damn 'Mother & Child' space.

Maybe we should all band together and just park in those spaces instead of our own, see how they like it.

On the damn bus (do many people here use the bus?) they could simply fold up the buggy, stow it and carry the baby/toddler. I've seen people do that, its not rocket science. You get the buggy + baby on the bus and don't hog the space in case someone in a wheelchair gets on. Problem solved. But no, thats too frickin' simple, we've got to have a debate about this vitally important subject.

Such BS.

Edited by Karl187, 11 March 2010 - 12:37 PM.

[dangerousdave]

Brings back memories of me half on a bus being told by the driver the space was occupied
With me stating I aint moving
2 passengers told the mum to move it
Which she did - I had my trip - and when I got off
People said well done

Not every body on buses are ignorant good for nothings

[PA01]

Karl187, on Mar 11 2010, 01:36 PM, said:

Maybe we should all band together and just park in those spaces instead of our own, see how they like it.

I park in these spaces all the time with my clients when there's no disabled spaces left. I've often wondered if this means we can get a fine for parking there?

[Karl187]

PA01, on Mar 11 2010, 03:44 PM, said:

Karl187, on Mar 11 2010, 01:36 PM, said:

Maybe we should all band together and just park in those spaces instead of our own, see how they like it.

I park in these spaces all the time with my clients when there's no disabled spaces left. I've often wondered if this means we can get a fine for parking there?

Hell no. A blue badge basically lets you park anywhere. The only real exceptions are outside fire stations, police stations etc. Whether or not the traffic nazis know this or not is beyond my knowledge. Some probably do and some probably don't. You can always appeal a ticket if you happen to get one. I think there is someone on the forum currently doing just that.

[ADP-10-08-63]

the old route bus use one buggy folded behind the conductor
what has happened since
only 50% have babies in the are used as portable shopping trollies
so if they can not fold why buy it????????????

[Travelling Blackbird]

When I lived in San Francisco, I never encountered this problem on the buses and trains, but since my return to Europe, it's become more and more of an issue for me. It's gotten to the point where I feel myself getting angry and ready for a fight when I see anyone with a buggy or pram waiting at the same stop as me...

I know it's unfair of me on one level. The parent with the child needs to use the bus/tram/train, and I need to use the bus/tram/train. There's only one door we can both easily use, and there's only enough space for two chairs or a chair and a small buggy. We both have places to go. And yet I find I've become completely, irrationally, chip-on-my-shoulder, I-have-more-right angry about this!

One thought is that I'm going to work, and this person isn't, so my need is greater. The next is that they're going to push their way on ahead of me and take up more than their fair share of space.

And those prams and buggies are ENORMOUS these days. They make SUVs look compact.

Unfortunately, on the three routes I use, it seems most of the people with babies don't speak English or German, so I can't even talk to them calmly and ask if they're getting off before me, so I know to get on first, or if they're in a hurry, because I am, or if they could fold the buggy and have the baby on their lap...

And don't get me started on people with bikes. I mean, they've got an effing bike! Ride the damn thing, don't take the bus with it!

My former flatmate had a baby, and she had a big baby carriage, and she used public transport, and she and I used to get into discussions about it. Well, arguments. I said things like "people with baby carriages shouldn't be allowed on public transport during rush hour", and "you decided to have a kid, I didn't decide to use a wheelchair", and she'd say things like "why shouldn't I use the tram on the offchance that one of the very few wheelchair users is going to be on it!" and "if it wasn't for people having kids...".

Fun times.

Yes, I'm irrational about this whole thing. The buses are mine. I'd let you use them but, they're mine.

[Texaswheelz]

When I ride the train here in Dallas, the wheelchair spot is always full of those damn buggies. I've been told more then once that I'd have to wait for the next train because the one I was about to get one was full, each time there wasn't one person in a wheelchair in the wheelchair spot, but either buggies or people standing.

[dangerousdave]

I visited Dallas a couple of years back to watch some NFL games
So I went everywhere by bus and train, into town and out of town
The only train I nearly missed was one with 4 wheelchairs
The driver only let me on as one of the other wheelies was getting off at the next stop
Ta driver
Just my observation

Loved the Counought Warbirds Museum
If I had timed my visit better I would have gone up in one. They would have used a hoist in another hanger to get me in and out the plane

What idiot put a railway station under a mountain. No joke it realy is.

[Rotarymotion]

The problem isn't the buggies (except the enormous "pavement-sweepers") its that the mothers are too lazy to fold them when getting on the bus.

Solution is simple:

Get bus companies to charge for all unfolded buggies. The Mothers will have the folding down to seconds within weeks.

When we had children, not only did we have much smaller buggies, but we always folded them prior to getting on a bus or train. People seem to see the wheelchair space as "available" and have got into the lazy habit of not folding their buggies.

[dangerousdave]

The answer to the buggie problem lies back in time
I ain't a 100yrs yet, but even I can remember mums had to take folded buggies on board - no exceptions
Just reserect the rule
Problem solved
I also remember all types of people helping them aboard