Comments on: Strollers on buses – my letter to the editor

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:11:21 +0000

Do they really think it’s FUN for the mom? Good for you for speaking out.

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:28:32 +0000

Great letter Dani! Way to tell them!.

By: ewe_are_here

ewe_are_here — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:21:16 +0000

Great letter.

It’s so sad that people are so mean spirited and petty about having to take two seconds to manoeuvre around a stroller on a public bus. Probably the same people who grumble about wheelchair users and the fact that the front of the bus seating (prime seating in their view) goes to the elderly and disabled first.

By: XUP

XUP — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:50:27 +0000

This whole stroller issue has been a sore point with me as well. The whole point of public transportation is that it’s for the public and the public comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and with a variety of accessories — from strollers to walkers to electric wheelchairs to shopping carts to a dining room table from IKEA (disassembled in one of their handy flat boxes). If we’re going to start kicking people off for taking up too much room, then we’ll have to get rid of the really fat man and the old people who walk too slowly and the guy with the cane that rests in the walkway.

And, I’m saying this as someone who travels without accessories. I’ll look out for your letter!!

By: Jerri Ann

Jerri Ann — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:04:53 +0000

You go girl!

By: Marianne

Marianne — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:24:32 +0000

I read your letter in the paper this morning, (not realising it was you) and agreed with it.

I’d also like ot point out that, in the photo of the woman and her daughter that accompanied the article, she was using an Avalon umbrella stroller (I noticed becuase it’s the same as mine), which is about as compact as you can get — certainly narrower from side to side than a walker or wheelchair. But on the other hand, her children are old enough she probably could have folded the stroller and held the younger one while the older sat beside her. If it had been a giant side-by-side double stroller, it would have been a different matter.

Oh, and Ottawa does have quite a few of the low-floor buses in service, but this particular bus happened to be one of the older style with steps at the doors, narrower aisles, and no seats that fold up to make room for wheelchairs and strollers.

By: daysgoby

daysgoby — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:57:14 +0000

Wow! I love well-written, well thought out letters to the editor – this was a nice change from the ‘God and cats’ old ladies brigade that populate the letters to the editor page here…

By: Batman

Batman — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:39:51 +0000

I’m on your side.

I believe this may be a case of discrimination based on family status. I wonder if OCTranspo has considered the cost and potential impact of litigation in this regard. There was a very good paper put out by the Ontario Human Rights Commission entitled, “Policy and Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Family Status.”

The introduction to the policy makes it quite clear that service providers must respect the dignity and worth of every member of society. It further notes that those who bear children and benefit society as a whole should not be economically or socially disadvantaged. The policy also seems to indicate that there is a required duty to accommodate on the part of OCTranspo. I’m not sure if that was addressed in the papers. Hopefully someone is giving it some thought.

Nice article by the way.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:38:59 +0000

Well said! I’ve been fuming myself over all of this nonsense.

By: colleen

colleen — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:06:08 +0000

Well done!

By: Nadine/Scarbiedoll

Nadine/Scarbiedoll — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:07:26 +0000

In Toronto we have these buses that lower on hydraulics to let wheelchairs and strollers on. Also seats that lift up to make room for people with wheels without blocking the centre of the bus. They are fairly new. But you still get the odd stink eye with a big stroller.

Good for you for taking a stand.

By: Virtually There

Virtually There — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:12:51 +0000

It bothered me so much that as of yesterday the blame was being placed on the mother for letting her two-year-old board the bus without her. What are we supposed to do? Climb aboard with our toddlers while our infants sit on the sidewalk alone? I’d like one of these opinion holders to tell me what they would do?

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:03:22 +0000

Very well written! I couldn’t agree more! I’ve never been in that particular situation, living in a small town where public transport isn’t available, but I can only imagine how difficult it is. And the very idea that the 2-yr old got on the bus, the mother was denied access, then the bus began to LEAVE makes me just sick!! What else are people supposed to do?

By: Meghan

Meghan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:55:23 +0000

Good Stuff! It’s like its not already hard enough to get around with two kids under two. Then not to be “permitted” on the bus. Unbelievable.

By: Mad Hatter

Mad Hatter — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:31:46 +0000

This world will never cease to amaze me and disappoint me. I hadn’t heard this story and now I am spouting fire.

Ha! Captcha id “cruelties 91″

By: No Mother Earth

No Mother Earth — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:14:10 +0000

Thank you for writing a letter! Situations like this make me so angry I get nauseous. Parenting is hard enough without being thrown to the wolves because you use a stroller.

By: Mar

Mar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:22:15 +0000

Well written response Danielle. I must be living under a rock because I just heard about this last night from my girlfriend. I was horrified that the poor 2 year old boarded the bus and then the mother got denied access. As a mom with 2 young kids, this could have easily been me (except taking the bus with my kids scares me)

I wonder what would have happened if he denied a wheelchair bound person?