While riding the #17 earlier this week, I saw two different parents handle the same situation how to take a stroller on the bus very differently.
I can’t seem to find an official stroller policy on Metro’s website, although from what I’ve heard from drivers, the policy is that the child must be removed from the stroller and the stroller folded up while it is on the bus.
Um, yeah. Not so much. Any parent knows how much of a challenge that can be, especially with an older baby or toddler who is of the age that they want to move around a lot. My guess is that this is a pretty big obstacle to riding the bus with kids: you need the stroller for wherever you are going (the zoo, Pike Place Market, the Ballard Locks) but getting the kids and the stuff and the folded-up stroller all on the bus just isn’t workable.
I tried taking the bus with the stroller for the first time last week. The logistics werewell, overwhelming, and I spent way too much time in the days leading up to our outing trying to figure out how it would work.
Heres how it went down. I had the stroller and the diaper bag, and I brought the Ergo carrier with me. So, I put Elanor in the Ergo when we got to the bus stop, then folded up the stroller in advance and had the diaper bag sitting next to the folded-up stroller, ready to grab when the bus arrived. (I hate sitting at a stop forever waiting for someone who is getting on the bus to gather his or her things; I so did not want to be that person.)
Surprisingly, people were helpful as I was trying to heft the stroller up the stairs and onto the bus while wrangling the diaper bag with Elanor in the Ergo. Thats what saved us, having her contained in a carrier. If I hadn’t brought the Ergo, it would have been a lot more difficult.
As it was, we were able to get situated and get everything stowed with a minimum of fuss, and the rest of the trip was uneventful.
At the end of the trip, the bus driver got off with me for her break, and we talked about how incongruous it is that strollers have to be folded up and stowed and that people in wheelchairs and little old ladies with their wheeled grocery carts are allowed to get on the bus without question.
The driver said that the reason behind not allowing kids in strollers is that its a safety issue; they dont want strollers with kids rolling all over the bus. And that makes sense to me, but as the driver said, she didnt know why they didnt allow strollers to be strapped in like wheelchairs. I completely agree why not?
Aside: I get the whole ADA thing and the reason why wheelchairs have to be allowed on; that makes sense. It just seems like if you are going to allow wheelchairs, then you might as well allow strollers too; the equipment to handle wheeled vehicles is already in place, so whats the problem?
But back to my original point. I saw two other moms with strollers on the bus this week; both were on the #17. They handled the stroller situation very differently from one another.
One mom just flat out told the driver that she had too much stuff stowed in the stroller and she wasnt unpacking it, and that shed just park it in the handicapped spot on the bus. The driver rolled his eyes and sighed (along with most of the passengers) and then did as she had essentially ordered him.
So in the middle of a crowded bus that was already running late, the mom got on with her giant Bob stroller in tow, fastened it in, and got her daughter out, forcing an elderly tourist couple to switch seats in the process.
It was all kind of awkward, and as much as Im in favor of letting strollers be on the bus, something about the way the mom just sort of bullied her way on really rubbed me the wrong way. She wasnt even apologetic, as I probably would have been. She just did it, no apologies, as if it was her right. On second thought, maybe thats not such a bad thing, even if it made for a mighty awkward atmosphere on the bus.
The second mom had such a small baby that the baby was still in an infant car seat, which was hooked into the stroller.
The bus driver said, You know youre going to have to fold that stroller up.
She said, with a sigh, Yeah, I know.
So she lugged the stroller on, unhooked the car seat, gave it to her mom to hold, then folded up the stroller and stuck it under the seat.
It was a non-event, quite the opposite of the other mom who just barreled her way on the bus, stroller in tow. I felt bad for the second mom mom; she had such a small baby and the driver was still making her fold up the stroller. I know when Elanor was still really small and I was recovering from having a c-section, there would have been no way I could have managed that.
Up until recently, we havent used our stroller much because of this very issue. We use it for walks in the neighborhood or to walk to the grocery store or the coffee shop, but if we ride the bus we usually just wear Elanor in the Ergo because its much easier than dealing with the stroller, even if it would be nice to have the stroller once we get wherever we are going.
As she gets older, though, I know well have to face this situation more often. One thing well have to do is buy a smaller stroller that folds up easily. (Our current stroller is great for walks around the neighborhood, but its big and doesnt fold well.) Im not sure what else can make the process easier, other than bringing a carrier or sling to put her in while we are on the bus itself.
Have any of you encountered the stroller-bus dilemma? Does it keep you from riding the bus more often? Do you ride anyway and just work around it? If so, what do you do? Do you have any ideas for how parents can make it easier on themselves or how Metro could help in making it easier?
Read more of Kathleens writing on her personal blog. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Carless in Seattle, email kathleen (at) seattlemomblogs.com.
This issue definitely stops me from riding the bus with my son a lot of the time. When he was tiny, we usually did the things you described- he rode in the Baby Bjorn or the infant carseat and we carried the folded up stroller onboard. Tough to do when I was by myself, but I managed a few times. Now that he’s out of the infant seat and the Bjorn, I’ve carried him and the stroller on on a couple of times, with much sweating and praying not to drop anything in front of a busful of people.
Thankfully, we live close to the Seattle Center, so the monorail is also an option for me. It costs me a few extra dollars, but it’s totally worth the expense much of the time. Like last week, I had a bag of library books to return, packages to mail, a diaper bag full of snacks and lunch… there was just no way I could get all that on the bus and hold my 19 pound son too! So the monorail it was. Besides, it’s fun to ride the monorail with the tourists and listen to them talking about their experiences in Seattle.
We did not own a car when our 8 yo was born. We took the bus everywhere-work, daycare, shopping and just “out”. The first thing we did was agree that we did not need a stroller that cost more than a car payment, and got a little umbrella stroller for $15 at Fred Meyer’s. It was easy to fold and unfold alone, and certainly took up less space on the bus. It also lasted until long after Miss R was walking on her own and no longer needed it.
Instead of trying to juggle a ton of stuff and the stroller, we used what used to be Flexcars, and saved the 19 errands for those days. We were also fortunate to live walking distance from a grocery store.
It never seemed like a huge problem to us, but probably because we had such a small stroller and we didn’t try to do too much without a car.
I actually had more of a problem coming home at rush hour once she was walking, when a dozen adults would look at me and take all the seats while I stood trying to hold Miss R and keep her from being crushed by the other standing passengers. Usually the only ones who got up to offer a seat were other parents with slightly older children, who would stand for my kid. We’d each stand there, one hand on the rail, one on the child, hoping we wouldn’t have to stop short. Man, I don’t miss those days.
I use to take the bus to school with my infant son. I basically did what you did– put him in the snugli and folded the stroller next to me. I think I was a combination of the two moms you saw– I resigned to the fact that I had to fold it up, but I kind of fussed about it and rolled my eyes.
And we live too far out of town to take the bus now! Though hubs takes it to work.
I was never much of a stroller mom, so I tried to avoid bringing our stroller on the bus. I used a bjorn or sling until he was big enough for an umbrella stroller. I did a lot of carrying, where others were using a stroller. It just fit my lifestyle better – and I ended up with much stronger arms as a result.
I tried bringing our big stroller on the bus once – everyone was helpful, but I learned my lesson quickly on that one. Just isn’t enough room.
Still, I remember trying to juggle a baby, a breast pump and a laptop bag (I got a backpack) on the way to daycare. Luckily, our daycare allowed us to stock up on diapers once a month, so I could avoid the diaper bag.
Once he was walking, he has had a facination with anything transportation. So, the bus has always been a treat for him – which makes the whole thing much easier.
When i worked at Disney World, our attraction allowed for wheelchairs to be strapped on, but not strollers. The reasoning was that the strap design was specifically engineered for wheelchair parameters.
I guess the reason behind the rule is the design of the strap system – though I’m not sure how much more secure a mom’s arms would be in the event of an accident!
Interesting post.
Becky
I am totally in awe of the struggle you have to go through, and I’m sorry it isn’t easier. It should be.
Even though I didn’t have to deal w/the bus, I agree that a good umbrella stroller can be a lifesaver in all kinds of situations, including public transportation. They are compact, light and cheap.
It would also be nice if everyone was a little more considerate of the hassles they put other people through when they aren’t prepared and ready to go like you are. I guess this is true for a lot of things though.
Good luck!
I just want to comment that I have ridden the bus in Germany with my children. These busses are convenient for families! The busses had stroller sections, and the strollers did not need to be folded! It seems reasonable for strollers to be parked with the wheelchairs. I think Metro should develop a family (ie stroller) friendly policy. I have had the experience of getting onto the bus with my baby and having the bus start going without waiting for me to sit down. It’s hardly mother and child friendly…
We used the carrier on the bus (for shorter trips) when I had just one kid.
When my second child was born, I used the bus a lot for short errands, because it was much easier to keep him in the carrier than getting him and out of the car seat and waking him up. So I wore the baby and used the umbrella stroller for my older son (who was three at the time) because he often got tired of walking to/from the bus stop.
I used our bigger stroller, full of things in the bottom ONCE and was totally flustered when the driver told me I had to unpack it and fold it up. Never did that again!
Made me think about designing a stroller that could still be folded while storing items….
If you are going to get an umbrella stroller for errands, I would splurge on a really lightweight one that folds easily AND has a rainhood. We just used our cheap-o one but I really missed having a rainhood.
Nice post! Thank you, and good luck!
If I was going on the bus with the hubs, we would each take one boy in a backpack (which had a zipper compartment that doubled as a diaper bag). It worked pretty well, and was much easier to maneuver while in Pike Place Market. However, if I was by myself, I’d bring the double stroller if necessary. Once the boys were walking, though, we would put them in the harnesses (yes, I’m one of THOSE parents) and they’d walk wherever we went. This necessarily limited the number of stops/errands we could do while riding the bus, but was so much easier than trying to fold up and stow the stroller that I dealt with it. Now with four-year-old twins and a newborn, I’m not sure how the bus is going to work for us.
Been there, done that! It is so tricky for sure! There is no perfect stroller. In the city, it’s unrealistic to be without a stroller, especially as your little one grows. In the blog entry I linked to, I was in NYC with my MacLaren, which is quick to fold and light weight. But with small wheels and limited cargo, it is not the ideal stroller for long outings or a lot of gear. I always filled it with stuff when I went grocery shopping. There were no stores near my mom’s place so I wound up having to make the 1 1/2 hour trudge to the store every few days because getting on and off subways and buses with 2 kids, a stroller, and having to take the bags out is so overwhelming! I didn’t blog about it but one time, I actually experienced the nightmare of my 5 year old running on to the subway and the doors closing before I could get on. I had baby on back in the Ergo and got just my hand in and wrestled with the door while a passenger did the same from inside the train. Man, that was horrifyingly scary. She just let go of my hand and ran for it because we were in a hurry. Traveling with kids in the city is soooo challenging!
Great post K.
So, while my child was in stroller mode I stayed away from the bus. This was hard as we were living in downtown Seattle and the bus was my favored mode of transportation. I just could never figure out the logistics.
I called Metro and asked them about this back when Babboo was first born. A live Metro phone operator told me the Metro policy was to have the driver use the HC lift for the stroller. This didn’t seem like it was the correct thing, and do I never dared try it. Instead I just didn’t use the bus. That didn’t seem like the right thing either.
Now that I’m riding the bus daily with Babboo (who is 2 and no longer using a stroller) I just sit with him on the bus. I’m not really comfortable with this either. How do we go from making it illegal to drive without a kid in a car seat to letting your kid flop around on the bus without any type of protection?
I just have to try to not think about it…which isn’t a good thing.
(And don’t even get me started on the fact that NOBODY every offers me their seat on the bus. Dude, I have a two year old with me…GIVE ME YOUR DARN SEAT ALREADY!)
(Last week I saw a man offer his seat to a woman with a child on the bus. This was the FIRST time I’ve ever seen this in all my years of bus riding. I was happy that I recognized the man from my congregation at church. Yeah for practicing what he preaches!!)
I have 2 year old, very active, twin boys. I must drive everywhere, because there is no way possible to take them on a bus because of the stroller-rule. Its very frustrating and limiting. I’d love to hop the bus (stop is right in front of our house!) and take it to the ferry and go over to downtown Seattle where my DH works. But again, I must drive, fight traffic, hope to get a spot on the ferry, and hope to find parking. Its a hassle and a waste!
And I tried it once. And only once. And I left the bus in tears, the boys were screaming, nobody helped and man-alive, I wish I had realized that the Phil & Teds E3 stroller could not be folded when it has the 2nd seat attached (rather, it has to be disassembled and it doesn’t latch closed).
Yeah. We just stay home.
Its a really different experience, for sure, riding the local routes of the express buses I used to ride. The demographic makeup of the express buses versus the local routes is very different. Instead of being filled with commuters with laptop bags slung over their shoulders and insulated coffee mugs in hand, reading the newspaper or magazines like The Economist, the daytime buses are filled with a much wider range of people. There are a lot of students, especially on the 17, which serves Seattle Pacific University. There are a lot more people riding with reduced fare permits, a lot more elderly people, a lot more people who look a bit rough around the edges.
I know that parents say that it is really hard for them to have the child on the bus with the stroller folded, but it really is a big obstacle. I go to school every day on two buses. A go and a transit.
On the go, you must fold the stroller and put it in the compartment under the bus.
On the transit, there is a sign that says, ’strollers must be folded’. But no one ever does it.
I have seen the bus packed with five strollers at once. It was ridiculous, people in the very back of the bus had to crawl over the strollers and get to the front because one was blocking the back exit. That is a safety hazard.
Yeah little old ladies come on with their strollers, but that takes up the space of one person. These parents come on with huge strollers and will not move them to help people get buy.
I have found it very frustrating. Especially when someone takes so long getting on the bus with the stroller, that my transit is late and I end up waiting another hour for the go.
I really cannot feel any pity for parents who do not fold their strollers because they are the most annoying people I find on the bus.