Buses, strollers, and wheelchairs

[simplytoopretty]

If the space that is meant for wheelchairs is taken up by strollers, what is expected of the bus driver if a wheelchair-bound person wants to get on the bus?

Comments

[jaydenbell]

I agree with lapiccolina . Though it is a bit unfair for mothers with babies to have to get off if they were there first (especially this time of year), that space is reserved for wheelchairs. And although the world is getting better about being more accessible to wheelchairs/people with disabilities, the fact is, there is still much less public transportation for people in wheelchairs. There are fewer bus/train routes, not every bus/train is accessible, so those folks have to go extra distances to get to an accessible stop sometimes.

That said, I don't think that particular person needed to have a complete fit about it and say something so rude to/about those women. That was uncalled for and rude. Acting like a child will get him nowhere. I take care of folks in wheelchairs and don't particularly care how bad off they are at the moment if they're going to act childish about it; there is something that haunts us all and makes our days harder (some admittedly harder than others, but nonetheless, we all have to quit feeling sorry for ourselves and suck it up).
And I also think that it is a bit rude of women who know they are going to be taking public transportation and insist on bringing oversized strollers that take up too much room and don't even fold up. Those are fine for walking around town and doing your errands. But they have to know that it's going to take ten years to get it into the back of a cab or on a bus or a train or something, and then it'll take up everyone else's foot space. It's a little inconsiderate.

I do think the bus driver should have asked the women who couldn't get their strollers folded up and out of the way to get off and wait for the next bus.

[simplytoopretty]

I think it would have been less an issue if the bus on the route ran more often at that time of day. The bus had only standing room when we got to that stop, and the next bus wasn't for half an hour.

I guess I'm just not comfortable with telling someone they have to get off the bus in situations where the person isn't making trouble. If you're waiting at a stop and the bus is full then you're not allowed on. And if that were also the case, should people be force to vacate the bus to make room for that wheelchair and have to wait for the next bus because they were in the space for wheelchairs?

The woman was out-of-line in what she said. She lost any sympathy among the passengers by saying that. It's a poorer neighbour, yes, but still, it was highly inappropriate.

I guess, with strollers, it's hard if the child is under a year. Then the strollers are often large and it's not that easy to fold them up, especially if you're alone, because there's no one to hold the child. And then once you got onto the bus you'd have to find someone to sit with the folded-up stroller and your little kid and that would also be hard because the aisles are narrow. But, at the same time, I think it'd be unfair to say that you can't take public transit if you have a little kid that requires a larger stroller. That's limiting the ability of those who don't have a lot of money, and that's the neighbour I live in.

I guess the more I think about it after reading yours and Lapiccolina's responses, the more I feel that the first come, first served policy is the one I favour. I totally agree that people should vacate seats for a wheelchair, but I don't agree that someone should be forced off the bus to make room.

[lilbreck]

I know, I butting in on a conversation, please forgive me. However, speaking as a mother of a boy under a year, there is no real need for a stroller that large. You can either use a collapsible stroller, or they do make baby slings for parents/adults to 'wear' the babies. Basically, there's no real excuse for people to be taking up spaces meant for wheelchairs.

Now, I'd feel differently if the bus were full and all seats were filled with actual people. However, strollers don't count as people, and it's basically one person taking up the space of two unnecessarily.

What it boils down to, for me, is that it's avoidable for the parents taking up the wheelchair space, so they should leave as apposed to making the people in wheelchairs wait when their need for the spaces are unavoidable.

Hopefully I didn't just type a bunch of gibberish.

[simplytoopretty]

It's fine, and there's wasn't any gibberish.

I suppose my issue is the desire to have someone removed from the bus. I get what you're saying about strollers, and the situation would have gone much better if the strollers could have been folded up, but they couldn't. I suppose, for me, as a fairly regular bus rider, I wouldn't want to be kicked off the bus to make room for someone else, not after I've paid for the bus and especially not when the bus only runs every half hour.

[ext_537030]

I know this conversation is from a while back. But on the off chance that someone is still reading this thread, I'd like to comment. I found this post while searching online for stroller/bus etiquette information. My husband and I have one car and we work in different cities. He carpools but sometimes he needs the car and works late. This week I am taking the stroller on the bus to take my daughter home from work/daycare. I have a baby carrier and I often wear her, but it is raining all week. I don't mind holding a diaper bag and wearing the baby, but when you throw an umbrella into that mix there is just too much to hold and we all get wet. So I'm taking my big stroller so I can put the weather cover on it for her and I'm wearing a raincoat. I considered buying an umbrella stroller for the bus. But her daycare bag holds extra clothes, diapers, lunch, snacks, blankets, etc. It's large and heavy, and needs to be so. An umbrella stroller has little storage and I wouldn't be able to put the weather proof cover over it for her. I looked into cab fare home, but it would be $40 per trip, costing me $200 for the week. I understand the emphasis on "wear your baby or bring a smaller stroller," but sometimes you really can't. That said, if a wheelchair user needs my spot on the bus I have absolutely no problem getting off for that person. As for folding up the stroller, I wouldn't mind doing this...but then I'd have the baby on my lab, a large diaper bag in the seat next to me, and the stroller at my feet...taking up more room than if I had left her in it.

This comes from someone very concerned about using the bus politely and ethically. Sometimes, unfortunately, you just take up room.

Jolene

[hoshi_reed]

Living here in Brazil I can't remember how many times I've had strange children in my lap because the bus was packed and my own was on my mother's lap (window). But then I guess the culture here is much different. Strangers will touch your kid (tap on the head) as they say what a cute kid.

Course we are also inventive. rope + overhead bar = stroller suspended in air

[simplytoopretty]

Yeah, I don't think we'd ever allow a strange child to sit in our laps. If it's a young child then usually someone will be kind enough to vacate their seat, but that's about all you'll get here.

That's an interesting thing about the suspended strollers. But they don't hit people as the bus moves?