national express coaches and travelling with a baby (18 months)

worldcupglory

Can an 18 month old baby travel on a National Express coach in a car seat, or are they expected to be carried on the adults lap (which is inherently unsafe.)

I would email national Express direct regarding this query but I cannot find a relevant email address on their site, although there is an 0871 telephone number for advice, ticket amendments, refunds and cancellations.

I'm hoping someone will know the answer having travelled with an under three, as helplines sometimes say one thing and the driver will say something else.

The help pages of their site states:

"Can I take my child's car seat on the coach?
Your Answer

Due to health and safety issues, we are currently unable to allow babies to travel in car seats on our services. As most of our coaches are only fitted with lap belts and not the three-point belts required, we are unable to guarantee child seats will be secure and in accordance with the fitting instructions. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we believe the safety of a child far outweighs any other considerations. We are working with manufacturers to find a solution and we hope you will be able to travel with us very soon."

But a press release from last year states:

"National Express Introduces Child-Safety Seats
Coach firm invests £1million in new child-friendly equipment


Strictly embargoed until 00.01 on Wednesday 29 August 2007



National Express, Britain's number one coach operator, will be the first national scheduled coach company to introduce new child seats for all children, it was announced today.

The company is fitting all its coaches with seat belts and booster seats as well as special fittings to allow car seats to be used on the coach for all passengers from newborn babies up to the age of 14 and older. The £1 million investment in the new 'child-friendly' measures will be completed across its entire fleet by the end of the year.

All new coaches on the National Express fleet will come fitted with special seat belts, which can be adjusted to fit the child's size, and special fittings to allow parents to securely fit a car seat onto the coach seat. National Express also plans to introduce child friendly zones of eight seats with the new seatbelts on its existing fleet.

The initiative, which has been approved by the Road User Safety and Transport Technology and Standards divisions of the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), reinforces the company's priority to safe and convenient travel.

Richard Bowker, Chief Executive, National Express Group, said: "National Express is the first UK national scheduled coach operator to provide these extra measures enabling all children from newborn babies onwards to benefit. As the UK's leading coach operator we believe we have a responsibility to take the lead on new customer focused initiatives. It has taken a year of extensive research and development work with manufacturers to ensure we get the right solution for our customers and today's announcement is the culmination of this effort.

"Coach travel is the safest form of transport and this new safety facility for children under 14 is designed to give parents and guardians extra reassurance that their children can travel safely with us.

Very simply, we want to make coach travel accessible to all passengers, whether they are nine months or 90 years old."

Duncan Vernon, Road Safety Manager at RoSPA said, "RoSPA is frequently contacted by parents concerned about how they can carry children safely on coaches. This initiative by National Express is to be welcomed, because it will increase the number of children who can make use of seat belts when travelling by coach."

Today's announcement forms part of a wider initiative to introduce new child-friendly zones onto National Express services over the coming months giving families a dedicated area when travelling.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

• As Britain's No 1 coach operator, National Express also operates a high frequency service to all major UK airports. With a record number of passengers choosing to travel with National Express, the company continues to invest in high specification vehicles and state-of-art customer facilities. The division employs over 1,500 people.
• The Government introduced legislation in September 2006, which made the wearing of seat belts for people over the age of 14 mandatory.
• The new child-friendly zones have been specifically designed to cater for all children under 14 years old. The design specifications are as follows:
  • Children aged 0-18 months travel in a rearward facing child seat
  • Children aged 18-36 months travel in a forward facing child seat
  • Smaller children aged 4-7 travel in a booster seat with a comfort fit belt provided on board
  • Larger children aged 8 and above travel in a booster seat with a comfort fit belt provided on board
• All people under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult on a National Express coach.
• All National Express coach seats are currently fitted with seat belts for adults. It will be the parent or guardian's responsibility to provide suitable child seats for children under four years old who cannot travel on a booster seat, and ensure the quality of the equipment and its safe use. A database of child seats that can and can't be used due to the size will be developed. "

If the help pages are correct I may be refused travel for an under three and yet tickets are sold to under threes (when accompanied by an adult.) The terms of travel say

"2.2 Carriage of children and young persons:

We will not be obliged to carry any child under 14 years of age unless that child is accompanied by a responsible person aged 16 or over. One child under 3 years of age may travel free if accompanied by a full fare paying passenger over the age of 16. "