Mothers with buggies face a crackdown in a government campaign to improve the public transport 'experience'.Oh, great! Yesterday, it was dogs, today, it’s mothers with kids. As Al Jahom points out, isn't that a demographic you'd have to be an idiot to want to annoy?
In a consultation paper issued yesterday, officials identified mothers with buggies as a source of trouble because they often park their pushchairs in spaces reserved for wheelchairs.Is Jan Moir writing policy now?
Many parents resort to using these spaces because there is no room anywhere else for buggies - but bus companies will now be told that they face fines unless they keep the wheelchair slots clear.So, buses will have to get bigger, or mothers will be told to find alternate means of travel.
Anyone want to bet which will happen?
Transport minister Sadiq Khan said: 'Two thirds of all public transport journeys are by bus and passengers deserve a better travelling experience.'‘…unless you have kids. Then you better stay in the kitchen, b***h! Don’t even think of going anywhere unless your man takes you by car!’
No, he didn’t say that last bit. But he might as well have done, mightn’t he?
4 comments:
isn't that a demographic you'd have to be an idiot to want to annoy?
Not if you want to loose the election! Neither of the main parties want to win the poison chalice.
Sorry, but this is nonsense. The problem with "buggies" is that they are just so bloody big these days. Why should we be spending untold millions making buses bigger to accommodate these buggies?
No kidding, I was on a bus a few weeks back and this woman got on with one that could barely fit through the door and was too wide to squeeze past the handrails (a gap big enough to accommodate an adult wheelchair, btw).
Don't make buses bigger - tell the mothers to buy smaller buggies! If they have a need to take it on the bus then it is THEIR responsibility to make sure it fits on the bloody bus!
I don't care how many mothers it upsets - they should be more pragmatic and stop expecting us to spend public money just to indulge their silly whims.
What a state this country is in - everything is the states responsibility. No it bloody isn't - if your buggy doesn't fit on the bus it's your fault not the bus companies. Take responsibility yourself and buy a smaller buggy.
Cost of buying a new buggy £100.
Cost of replacing all the buses £billions.
Work it out.
P.S. My kids made do with a cheap, basic foldaway pushchair. We never had any problem taking them on buses, trains or any other form of transport. The buggy lasted as long as it was needed and served its purpose more than adequately.
The other thing is that the government is demanding that the wheelchair spaces be kept clear not that there be a space free when it's needed. IOW, we're talking another load of jobsworths demanding the right to fine bus companies because, if a hypothetical disabled guy got on the bus at some point in the future, there wouldn't be a space for him unless, y'know, the buggies were moved.
"Neither of the main parties want to win the poison chalice."
I think you may be right...
"Take responsibility yourself and buy a smaller buggy."
I suspect for a lot of these mothers, the type of buggy is as much a status symbol as their husband's choice of car...
"The other thing is that the government is demanding that the wheelchair spaces be kept clear not that there be a space free when it's needed."
It's that Victimhood Poker again. Wheelchair-bound passengers trumps mother with kids every time, even when not actually physically present.
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