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.

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

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.

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.