Prams on buses

zaksmum

Pinklipgloss, the baby in the pram was about 18 months old, and chomping on a sausage roll, not a tiny newborn. And I can't see any reason why the girl couldn't have walked or used a fold down buggy - as JackieB and Barbiedoll say, we just had to walk everywhere when ours were little.

The girl only went two stops which is just lazy and certainly didn't merit making an old lady move - she had to negotiate a way round the pram too, which was indeed built like a tank.

I just thought it was disgraceful to expect an infirm old lady to have to struggle down the bus to make room for a pram.

AsknAnswer2

Last week I took a seat for the elderly and disabled because there were no other seats. I had my nose in a book and didn't notice the person coming on with the walking stick. I only became aware of her because she tapped me on the shoulder and said that she needed the seat. I stood up and gave it to her no problem. I didn't get a please or a thank you but nor did I expect one - the seat clearly says 'please give up these seats for elderly or disabled passengers'. She had the right to the seat - I didn't.

By the same token the sign in the space you describe clearly stated that it was for wheelchairs or prams. The girl with the pram was entitled by the bus company's signage to use that space and the other woman wasn't, when she declined to move, the bus driver intervened, and he was quite right to do so - though he should probably have requested that someone else give up a seat near the front for the lady.

When a person uses public transport they use it on the understanding that some seats are reserved for particular passengers and that they will have to move if a passenger who is entitled by the signage requires the use of that seat. I don't see the issue. Yes, the girl may have been able to walk to her destination - but why should she when there is a space reserved for a pram on the bus? The woman managed to walk to the bus stop and managed to get on the bus, presumably she will also be able to walk to wherever she is going once she vacates the bus.

Perhaps the girl shoved the pram in there without a thank you because she is fed up of encountering the same problem whenever she uses the bus where there is a clear space reserved for her pram. I use public transport daily and every day I see other people who cause a stink when a passenger requires the use of a seat that is clearly signed for them and not the person who is sitting in it.

Nicki

The girl with the pram should have been pleasant to the old lady and asked her nicely to move.

However, the old lady was sitting in the area reserved for pushchairs. There were other seats on the bus which she could have used, but nowhere else the girl with the pushchair could go. She is not allowed to leave the pushchair in the gangway as this causes an obstruction and would inconvenience far more passengers than one old lady, and could be dangerous in an accident. The bus driver would have let the girl with the pushchair on the bus because he knew that no other pushchairs or wheelchairs were on so this area was available for her use. If it hadn't been, she would not have been allowed on. The girl would have paid her fare or had it deducted from her smartcard when she boarded the bus. Should she have had to get off, and lose her bus fare, because an old lady did not want to move a few seats further back?

In the circumstances as zaksmum has related them both the young girl and the old lady were equally rude and inconsiderate of each other. I am a mum with a young child in a pushchair who sometimes uses the bus and have sometimes had to ask people, politely, to move out of this area. I am not ashamed of this, though I would be if I were rude and aggressive when I did so. Equally, when I get a bit older and more infirm, I would try not to sit in that area and would move if asked and would be ashamed and embarrassed to cause a scene about this.

The fact that in the old days prams weren't allowed on buses or had to be folded is completely irrelevant. That is not the rule or the custom these days and so mums are not organised to do this. If you know you need to fold your pushchair on public transport, for example, you would have all your possessions gathered together in a bag to enable you to do so easily whilst holding the baby. As this is no longer the rule, most if not all mothers will have items loose in the basket under their pushchair which prevent it from being closed down, and it is hard to juggle baby, some loose purchases or toys, raincover and changing bag, whilst trying to fold a pushchair on a moving bus in the confined space of the gangway because some obstinate old lady is refusing to allow you access to the wider pushchair space!

Delivery_Driver

Helix wrote: »

So its fine for you to cause a hazard by having a pram that is too large? Luckily some bus drivers do refuse prams that are too big, but others seem to allow it and one old lady tripped over whilst trying to leave the bus because of a pram sticking out.

I don't have a problem with prams but buy ones that are a sensible size not built like a tank.

Where does the person you quoted say they have a big pram?

custardy

Nicki wrote: »

The girl with the pram should have been pleasant to the old lady and asked her nicely to move.

However, the old lady was sitting in the area reserved for pushchairs. There were other seats on the bus which she could have used, but nowhere else the girl with the pushchair could go. She is not allowed to leave the pushchair in the gangway as this causes an obstruction and would inconvenience far more passengers than one old lady, and could be dangerous in an accident. The bus driver would have let the girl with the pushchair on the bus because he knew that no other pushchairs or wheelchairs were on so this area was available for her use. If it hadn't been, she would not have been allowed on. The girl would have paid her fare or had it deducted from her smartcard when she boarded the bus. Should she have had to get off, and lose her bus fare, because an old lady did not want to move a few seats further back?

In the circumstances as zaksmum has related them both the young girl and the old lady were equally rude and inconsiderate of each other. I am a mum with a young child in a pushchair who sometimes uses the bus and have sometimes had to ask people, politely, to move out of this area. I am not ashamed of this, though I would be if I were rude and aggressive when I did so. Equally, when I get a bit older and more infirm, I would try not to sit in that area and would move if asked and would be ashamed and embarrassed to cause a scene about this.

The fact that in the old days prams weren't allowed on buses or had to be folded is completely irrelevant. That is not the rule or the custom these days and so mums are not organised to do this. If you know you need to fold your pushchair on public transport, for example, you would have all your possessions gathered together in a bag to enable you to do so easily whilst holding the baby. As this is no longer the rule, most if not all mothers will have items loose in the basket under their pushchair which prevent it from being closed down, and it is hard to juggle baby, some loose purchases or toys, raincover and changing bag, whilst trying to fold a pushchair on a moving bus in the confined space of the gangway because some obstinate old lady is refusing to allow you access to the wider pushchair space!

look you should be walking or using an oversized 4x4

Nicki

custardy wrote: »

look you should be ... using an oversized 4x4

:rotfl::rotfl: Quite often I do, but I am a typical lady driver and can't park the darned thing, so when travelling into the city I often get the bus

nellytheelephant

MamaMoo wrote: »

What p*sses me off is getting on a bus and finding elderly people sitting in the fold down pram/wheelchair area (and clinging on for dear life) because young people are sat in the extra legroom seats at the front, and won't move.

This really annoyed me! I've got severe arthritis, I'm only 25, I would be incredibly annoyed if someone asked me to move because they have deemed I don't deserve that seat - I do and I need it!

PinkLipgloss

nellytheelephant wrote: »

This really annoyed me! I've got severe arthritis, I'm only 25, I would be incredibly annoyed if someone asked me to move because they have deemed I don't deserve that seat - I do and I need it!

This reminded me of how things are not always as they appear. For example, when I was heavily pregnant I could easily get away with sitting in the "reserved" seats at the front of the bus (in Madrid they are labelled as being reserved for elderly, disabled (non-wheelchair) and pregnant).

However, at the start of my pregnancy (when I was not visibly showing that much at all) I was frequently severely nauseous / tired and got some really filthy looks from people for sitting in one of these seats as they were oblivious that I was pregnant!

EDITED TO ADD - I am not referring to sitting in a pram/wheelchair area - I am referring to regular seats with "reserved" signs - see post below.

BlueAngelCV

Whilst the person with the buggy was rude it was also rude not to give up the seat. Why did the old lady need the seat with the extra space just because she had a stick? I can see that she shouldn't be expected to go upstairs or to use the seats nearer the back that are higher up but those seats are designed for wheelchairs or buggys. I would give up my seat for someone elderly wherever I was but in those spaces wheelchairs & buggys take precedence.

What irritates the life out of me is people who sit on the space next to the aisle with their bag taking up the space next to the window. Fine, if there's no-one else on the bus but otherwise what makes them so special that they deserve a whole seat to themselves. I always head straight for them & politely ask them to move over which often elicits lots of sighing & rolling of eyes.

I think that basically a little bit of courtesy goes a long way.

However, at the start of my pregnancy (when I was not visibly showing that much at all) I was frequently severely nauseous / tired and got some really filthy looks from people for sitting in one of these seats as they were oblivious that I was pregnant!

But why did you need to sit there because you were nauseous/tired? The whole point is that they are larger for people who need extra space.

k66yla

I very rarely get the bus anymore but when I do there will be the 'inbreds' off my estate with their pushchairs full of shopping and the kids running riot on the bus, jumping on all the seats whilst the mum is busy texting her latest conquest. Do buggys still fold down or is it people with the IQ of 4 not know how to fold them up.