'There’s something ugly about leaving a woman and baby at a bus stop' blog discussion

ftbworried

A lot of bus drivers I have come across in my personal experience seem to really enjoy enforcing their 'power' over people by refusing to serve them if a) they haven't got the right change or b) they have a pram or some other trivial issue. I understand if they have to do it- but it never seems to be with regret or apology, they always seem to have this smug, self-satisfied grin when they do it. Maybe they are taking the fact that they are so unfulfilled by their job out on the passengers...

Scarlett1

foreversomeday wrote: »

Scarlett, you made me think with that comment about the bus driver not waiting. Before I read that I would have said she should have folded up the pram too.

Weren't so-called "Pram spaces" originally intended for wheelchair users?

The old buses you had to collapse the pram and put it in the rack so it could have been that the area was for wheelchairs, I used to get on the bus with my daughter in a pram before I got my car and the new one's have an area for prams and OAP's and their trollies (and wheelchairs), but there is only enough room for 2 prams so if anyone else gets on with one they would have to collapse it and put it in the rack near the driver, I personally would have struggled and collapsed the pram cause you only get 2 buses per hour where I live and wouldnt want to not get on :eek:

Scarlett1

Eugene's_Pal wrote: »

I hate prams, they are a menace on our pavements, towncentres and shopping malls. Why can't parents carry their ghastly children on their backs or fronts on special harnesses, like they do in continental Europe?

I could just imagine a parent carrying their 3 year old in a sling :rotfl:

olly300

I can understand why the bus driver said there was no space.

When the "pram" spaces started on London Buses I remember bus drivers telling:
1. mothers already on the bus to collapse their prams so another mother could fit on
2. the mother at the bus stop to collapse her pram if she wanted to fit on

In general all the mothers got really annoyed about this because it was hassle as you are not suppose to give your child to another passenger to hold while you are collapsing your pram. (I've had toddlers dumped on me or holding on to my legs.) On a few occasions a mother would give the drivers grief or find they couldn't collapse the pram even when they had other people helping them.

Contains_Mild_Peril

"Pram spaces" are for either wheelchairs or prams, with priority given to wheelchairs where applicable. Unfortunately I've met a few bus drivers like those ftbworried describes. Some just won't wait for someone to fold a pram: some won't even wait for everyone to get on the bus regardless. When I was at college, the bus back into town would often leave with empty seats but the driver claiming the bus was full rather than check if it was or not. The buses had clear signs saying they could take up to 8 standing passengers, but some drivers would,not have any standing, and would rather leave the one poor student at the back of the queue waiting half an hour or more for the next bus.
In Glasgow, it seems bus drivers stop to pick up passengers if they feel like it. My son and I have been left standing for an extra hour in pouring rain at night after our bus didn't stop even though there was room on it. Worse still was the time the last bus didn't even show, leaving us stranded. I also nearly missed a train after a bus driver wouldn't let me on with my luggage. Again, there was plenty of room, but the sarky driver said I needed a removal van not a bus, and didn't care that I had a train to catch.

navinder_k

As a mother myself I'm furious...:mad: The pram could have been folded and the mother would have got a place on the bus. I also think that a little kindness from passengers on board could have been useful too. I'm sure someone could have spared some space by folding their buggy. :rolleyes:
The same goes when a bus is full, you have to get the next one but then you notice that there was space in the back anyway had people moved back in the bus.

Smiley_Mum

I recall when DS1 was a baby, I was waiting for the bus to town and I went to fold down the pram when the bus arrived. The bus driver said he couldn't help me, regulations or something or other. Some passengers got out and helped me take the pram onto the bus and I sat with the little one on my lap. The driver apologised that he couldn't help but it was to do with company policy etc. Thankfully it was Summer time so no worries about standing in the freezing cold.

Feel sorry for the poor woman waiting with with her baby, hope a bus came along soon for them both.

eyelinerprincess

Our local stop there's a bus comes every 15 minutes, though half the time it doesn't come at all! And I can't count the number of times a mother and child have been left there because there's no space for the buggy

fishingcinema

this is something that really hits a nerve with me too i have two young childeren under 3 and do not drive so i use the public transport the buses some bus drivers are very kind and offer to hold the baby and some passengers are very helpful too but you get more grumpy impationt bus drivers than nice ones i have absolutley no problems in folding down my pushchair but they sit there tuting and sighing as if to say hurry up thats why the mothers get flustered and have trouble putting the pushchairs down and the amount of times the bus driver has drove off before we have got seated resulting in my two year old sent flying down the bus is unreal i know some people with kids seem to think that everyone should move for them on buses and pavements and in shops but we are not all like this

DenBo_4

Eugene's_Pal wrote: »

I hate prams, they are a menace on our pavements, towncentres and shopping malls. Why can't parents carry their ghastly children on their backs or fronts on special harnesses, like they do in continental Europe?

Why should they? Have you ever tried carrying a child in a harness? They quickly feel like they weigh a ton! And what about carrying all the shopping etc plus baby's essentials? Whether you like it or not mothers and babies are important to this world, leaving some poor mother at the bus stop in the cold whilst everyone else gets on is terrible, bet that bus driver didn't feel a shred of remorse.