Well we all know the government is going on about this carbon footprint and wanting more people to take the bus. But have they thought about how much stress it puts on us who have prams/ buggies to get on and off the bus by ourselves. I am 28wks pregnant and live near Aberdeen in Scotland and there is not much lowlined buses so what we have to do is take the car seat off the pram/ or baby, Collapse the pram and carry all of this on to the bus. If you are by yourself it is a nightmare, My sis does this everytime she comes out to see me with no help from no-one. I was with her one day and thought it was so bad that she has to leave her little one on the bus while she collapses the pram frame to get on as sometimes you cant carry them bothon at the same time.

Sorry to go on a bit but it just annoys me. The government wants us to use buses well why dont they make it easier for people to use them then.

Would like to hear other peoples views please?

even with lowline buses you get arrogent kids who think its their right to sit there or mom's with 1 child in the pushchair angled so you can't gert another on or the elderly who sit there as if they have priority over them.... We can't win which ever way you go especially if its on a busy route and you've been stood there for 20 mins in the cold and the bus is not full but the pushcair section is full of people who just want the space for sitting in.

even with lowline buses you get arrogent kids who think its their right to sit there or mom's with 1 child in the pushchair angled so you can't gert another on or the elderly who sit there as if they have priority over them.... We can't win which ever way you go especially if its on a busy route and you've been stood there for 20 mins in the cold and the bus is not full but the pushcair section is full of people who just want the space for sitting in.

hi, i don't have children (ttc) and can understand how hard it can be to get on and off buses with a puschair but, my brother is in a wheelchair and can not walk. the puschair space is also a wheelchair space and very often it is full of puschairs and people do not move them when he wants to get on the bus so he has to wait for the next one (occassionally it's taken four buses to go before he can get on). He has no choice but to go in those spaces as he would love to be able to walk to a seat, whereas puschairs can be folded and i know it's inconveninat but those spaces are a luxery not a right (sorry for the rant but it winds me up). I do agree that there should be more of these spaces but please have sympathy for other people who also need them.

yes its ridiculous the buses r rubbish where i live now there the old ones where u take buggy apart but the new ones r much better where there designed for pushchairs like u say they had them everywhere where i used to live it was gr8 but now it sucks.

Hi girlinleeds i completely agree with what you are saying and as a mum i always fold pushchair if a wheelchair needs to get on no matter how inconvenient for me because as you say they are mainly designed for wheelchairs. I drive but sold my car as there were just too many cars on the road and once i had my children for some reason i hated driving so now use buses. I went out and brought the smallest pushchair i could even though i have a 1 year old and a nearly 3 year old and it can be difficult as I know space is limited and the smaller they are the easier they are to fi into smaller spaces. I absolutely hate it when people get on with these huge pushchairs and expect you to move out the way for them all the time. I just feel that sometimes you have to make it easier for yourselves if you are going to use public transport as it is so much easier and safes many arguments!

The other thing that completely bugs me is the old women that moan about you getting on a bus with a puschair and have to move them shopping buggy things they use! I had one barge me in the ankles with one once as the driver asked her to move the cart so i could get in and she went mad!

xxx

this is one subject that gets me, my son has additional needs, so therefore has a special needs buggy which is quite big and will (quite rightly so) only fit in the wheelchair bay on a bus, the number of people who refuse to move because the s.n.b looks like a normal pushchair (in fact a company has brought out a pushchair that looks similar to my s.n.b:x) really gets me esp those with the big 3 wheel things.
I have to either stand in the aisle, or have a big argument just to get on the bus, I have to use public transport as I don't drive and even if i did parking charges at hospitals are way of the planet.
it's not only other passangers who i have to arue with though I've had a couple of arguments with drives who have wantted to let a wheelchair on, i've even had to show a driver my sons zippe r:\( (his scar from his heart op)
SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE:roll:

i had a bus driver tell me to collapse my pram, wake my baby up in the process before he would let me on, sniggering and laughing at me doing it with no offer of help - in the pouring rain!!!!

We dont have any wheelchair/pram access on our bus routes - aparantly noone raound here is disabled or has a pram, or were all rich enough to drive two cars.

I complained about that driver and never heard anything back, but was told they dint believe me as he had kids of his own... WTF???

am v v annoyed with stagecoach. Would rather pay £20 for a taxi both ways than pay £8 for the bus each way!

i am exactly the same. i hate busses but cant drive and even if i could cant afford to!! i have had busses just drive past me when they see my pushchair even though i would have folded it!! i have also been on bus with my buggy and bus was nearly empty, no one sat in any of buggy spaces, could have fit another 2 on and driver just drove past all people waiting with buggys. its absolutley disgraceful. only reason i got on is cause i was stood behind some1 without buggy.

On our buses they now have this new rules that states no more than two buggies on the bus at any one time.

With it being so busy now three or four buses can now pass you with plenty of seats but as there are already two buggies on board they will not let you on. So you and your poor little one are outside in the freezing clod waiting for a bus,

Viv

no offence, but at least you have pram spaces on your buses.

we get price increases, then they drag out old buses that are falling apart! - some of the buses are so bad, that even if you fold your pram up its still a squeeze to get it through the poles at the doorway! (and thats the little pram that we bought specially for buses)

we have to collapse the pram off the bus even if its raining, snowing, freezing and 'company policy' states they are not 'allowed' to collapse the pram - but what about helping you by holding your bag or baby - not gonna do much damage then are they!

they make my blood boil, effing arrogant W*&^%rs

Hiya all

Just seen this post and had to reply,me and my 3 girls 9,5 and 18 months have to get bus to and from school as its way too far to walk and i dont drive.I pay nearly £30 a week in bus fares to be abused by bus drivers who dont like to stop at bus stops,old people who think its there right to sit where buggys supposed to go and then you get bus full of school kids smoking drugs! to top it all off the bus company has now took all low floors off so i now have to fold buggy and stand on a packed bus with an 18 month old in my arms as well as making sure other 2 dont get trampled on as theres only 1 bus every 30 mins and they want us to spend our money catching the bus!Im learning to drive after new year as bus company are putting up there fares after new year!
oh and for complaining doesnt work its always they will investigate.:x

hi
this is one of my pet hates too after standing 25 mins waiting on bus driver just put up his hand (ricki lake style) and said you are not getting on let all the others on and drove off really embarrassing my neighbour is never allowed on either and walks her 5 yr old 1.5 miles to school n back every day with 2 yr old twins in a buggy i really hate the i have the power bus drivers

this really get to me too. i've had many buses drive past because they already had buggies on, without even giving me a chance to fold it up!!
i also hate it when you have to fold your buggy up for someone who's child about 4 years old and perfectly capable of sitting anywhere on the bus.
also the drivers always make me fold up whilst still on the pavement instead of letting me on to do it so we get wet or frozen and my 19 month old tries to run away while i'm folding the buggy and of course, no one offers to help. at least if they let me on first, my lo wouldn't be able to go far or get in the road!
and yes people with large buggys annoy me, doubles are fair enough coz they're all quite large! i had a lovely mamas and papas pram when my son was born but i sold it when i realised just how much space it took up on the bus!!
keep saying i'll learn to drive but don't have anyone to watch kids while i learn

the bus situation with prams really bugs me. i think drivers are so rude anyway without adding a buggy to the situation.
i once saw a driver turn away a mum with a buggy and the bus was empty, all cos the bus was running late, what a crock.
what upsets me is that u all have ur right to be upset about this, but dont get mad at people with big prams. i have twins and i have a single file tandom pram, as i know how big the side by sides are and it just doesnt get me any where. but i have to have my buggy and its not my fault and i am so tired of the mums that think i dont need any more room in shops, foot path or the bus... its a long pram and i do my best to stay out of the way and i am lucky to be able to afford a twin travel system pram, but u try taking two car seats of a pram and fold up he pram without anyone even batting an eye lid. i am not having a go i am just saying a point of view from a twin mum that has to have a long pram.... when they are bigger i will get a small pram ....
i do agree with the wheelchair committ though and i would always give up my space for a wheel chair.

Hi crilly I completely sympathise i havnt got twins but needed and will need again a double pushchair for my little ones due to haviing them close in age! I completelty agree with you how other mums can be more inconsiderate when in shops and other places with the bugies as a double is a lot harder to steer than single.

I will however say that I am one of the moaners about big pushchairs on buses, but this is referred to huge single pushchairs, that sometimes are stupidly big.

xx

some people do have rather large prams for no reason, and i agree with that they r taking up too much space, i guess its just a touchy topic for me as i find no one gives me room anywhere and i hate having to have such a long buggy but it makes my life easier. i was in a shop the other day and this kind gentleman stepped aside for me to get passed which was nice, so this woman just saw it as an opotunity for her to go instead and just burged passed me and rudely snarled at me, i couldnt believe it. my girls are 5 months, i drive but i havent driven in over 2yrs due to the fact the bus is easier and health as i get a bit of a walk. but since i have had the twins i havent been near a bus if i need to go out i walk as much as i can or i get a lift off my husband or mother in law. i really want to be able to just pop to town on the bus but i know its going to be a nightmare.......... its bad enough out walking and shopping with a buggy, without having to add the stress of the bus. i was going to start my girls with baby modelling, for something for me to do and to have a little money put aside for them when they are older but the idea of travelling around lndon on trains and buses makes me sick. i know it was be so hard on my own, its so unfair... they want u to take the public transport but they dont make it easy.

sorry if i sounded in my last message that i was angry

Oh no you didnt come across angry rant away i know i do, lol! I like you do drive but since having the girls and moving to se london I havnt liked driving. I am quite lucky where I am that everything is in a walkable distance but the service is awful, trains are a little better apart from some staions have lots of stairs and no lifts so i find myself having to carry the pushcahir which isnt good.

x

i had to buy a small pram for going on the buses as i couldnt even think about taking our big one on them! its a nice pram (mothercare urban detour) but its only really for if were going somewhere in the car, or walking, buses are a big no with it! but my nice lil pram fits on them (just) not taking up much more room than a person would.

i can drive, but we can afford to have two cars, or even put me on the insurance of the family car we do have, so my only option is the bus or taxi or walk. I hate the bus and cant afford taxis (althgouh i would gladly pay forone rather than use the bus nowadays) but i live in the sticks with the shops being 10 miles away......

i can understand the twin prams, but i too dont get the big single baby prams. thats why we got a smaller one...... which still struggles to get on our buses!

i think the government needs to be approuch on its public transport, its unfair that there isnt lifts at trainstations and we are forced to carry baby and pushchair or not even go on the train, and the limit of room for us on the buses just has to stop. maybe we should see if prima mag can write up an article about it ,

can you believe it i got the bus for the first yesterday, since i had my twins 6months ago. and what a night mare. firstly the bus driver wasnt going to let me on with my buggy, when i said i can take the carry seats off the pram and fold it up, it wasnt too bad. but i had to get some really nice people to help me do it, as you try putting two babies and a pram on a bus. some people gave me bad looks, and some people said some really horrible things to me, but i dont care. i didnt take up much room, the buggy was in the bit for folded prams and i had the two carry seats one on my lap and other other one next to me on the seat... one lady said me to me, you shouldnt be taking twins out shopping, you should be going on the bus with twins, you should be doing this or that. i was so cranking, i didnt let it get to me, but it just upsets me. i have as much right as anyone to get on that bus.
i wasnt going to get the bus, but i thought why am i advoiding it, its there for people to use, i have the right to use it. what is upsetting is that every bus that came along was a bubble decker and they had no room for wheel chairs or for prams. its night fair and its not right that they do this. every bus whether its a double decker or a low rider, should have space for a wheel chair............... its wrong............... what also gets me, is that one lady who i asked ever so nicely to help me get the girls on the bus, said no i have a bad back, in a nasty voice and said you havent the right to get this bus as its a dubble decker and its not for you people. what does she mean you people. did she think i had no money to have a car. my husband has a great job we have a loverly car, but he uses it and i like to walk or get the bus.... i dress nice, my kids dont go without, i have the best twin buggy thats on the market, so whay did she mean by, you people......................?! did she mean you people as in twin mums, or you people with kids, you people that have big buggy's??? its a long buggy not a big buggy and it fold up and the girls still have a seat... so whats her problem.......................
as you can see i am angry...................... upset about it. years ago people used to be so nice to one another, these days people dont care. my mother brought me up to respect everyone, to give your seat up for the elderly, open the door that kind of thing, but how many people these days actually have those manors.................. not many thats for sure. people just care about themselfs.
i dont expect peoples help or sypathy just cos i have twins, but is it too much to ask someone for a bit of help these days.....................................

it just gets better now with our services.
the bus company have put the prices up by £1 on most journeys, and reduced the number of buses as well. all a cost cuting measure of course.

and they do now provide buses with pram/wheelchair acess on them - after 9pm at night. So we cant complain that they dont..... ha ha bloody ha!

the other really 'good' thing is now they wont accept any note other than a five pund note - not legally required to and can refuse you entry onto the bus if you dont have the right change or a higher denomination note......

it really is a great 'public service' now!

Oh dear, I can't decide if I'm glad I read this post or not.
I am currently expecting my 1st baby and don't drive or have a car. I am also very aware of environmental factors and had until now been quite looking forward to using public transport with my new baby. However you lot have really put me off !!
I think in Edinburgh we're lucky to have a good bus service but I do know that they only let 1 pushchair on at a time.

As we're about to start doing our pram/push chair research can you reccommend any that are particularly good for public transport.
Thanks ladies. Suz xx

Hi Suz and everyone else. I posted here ages ago so wont repeat otherwise you will be asleep.

Just wanted to add that while your babies are little have you thought about a sling when you go on public transport I have got one for this one and actually been using it with my daughter who is 16 months and its not actually too bad and saves a lot of hassle with the buggies.

Just a thought I would add.

Hope your all well xxx

I must be quite lucky the drivers on my local help me get my folded buggy on and off, or if they dont I always seem to find a kind passenger to help. To make my life easier I bought a hip sling as with the one i got i could go hands free so to speak and wheel the buggy about. But i agree the gov needs to do something if they want us all to give up our cars

I must admit that I tend to drive nearly everywhere that I can't walk to but I have used the bus, both with my normal, big pushchair and also with a lightweight stroller. My advice would be to buy something like a Maclaren Techno XT that is suitable from birth and really easy to fold one handed. That way you can put the pushchair in the luggage rack if you need to without it being to much hassle. On my one trip on the bus with the big pushchair I got glared at all the way home by some daft old bat that wanted the pushchair space for her stupid shopping trolley. Should have got on the bus before me then!

just wanted to say that i did buy a small pram specially for buses, but with shopping its not so easy to fold down one handed - and i have got a sling so if i know i wont be buying anything he goes in that (all more expense as also had to buy waterproof clothing) but if im going to go shopping i need the pram... and the shops are 10 miles away by bloody bus.....

why cant the bus 'service' just provide a bus service, like they used to...?
needs to be nationalised if you ask me....

xxx

Don't get me started on public transport lol I would love to use the bus more as I am aware of the environmental impact of driving my (powerful) car everywhere., but where is the incentive when taking lo with me is such a struggle and it is as cheap to drive anyway? It seems to me that it is long since time the government used some of the huge amounts they collect in car and petrol tax to improve our shitty public transport system!

We have lots of buses in Edinburgh that have wheelchair spaces but sometimes I have trouble getting on. The pram doesnt fold so I have no choice to wait for a bus where there is room. If someone is sitting in that space I politely ask them to make some room for the pram, some moan so I try to run over their feet. Mean Mummy. I was recently out without my lo and a pram was on the bus when a wheel chair user wanted on so the mum had to get off the bus! I sent our bus company an email asking for their policy on this and basically the bus driver cannot force you off the bus or to fold your buggy. If the buggy folds then its nice manners to allow other on but its not always that easy. Im looking forward to getting rid of the bukly pram and getting a more public transport friendly buggy.

I remember once when my little man was younger i had to wake him up so i could fold the buggy up as another woman on the bus with her 4 year old in his buggy wouldn't fold hers up. I admit at the time it wound me up but now i think that it was a good job my mum was with me so she could hold my son while i folded my buggy up. Subsequently i now prefer to use the metro and am always gutted if i have to use the bus.