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Size matters, so we must rethink buggies on buses
IT was unquestioningly a very clever idea – to design a bus so that it could comfortably accommodate push-chairs.
In the old days when passengers were regarded strictly as second-class fare, parents were expected to fold up push-chairs on boarding a bus.
Today, higher expectations and wider and better-designed buses mean it’s possible to push the buggy straight onto the bus.
However, the designers, manufacturers and municipal transport agencies didn’t take into account what would happen if push-chairs got bigger at the same time as more and more people began to use buses.
It’s difficult to blame parents for preferring today’s big buggies, which can double up to carry shopping and family accessories. Nor would one want fewer people to use buses to make room for them!
However, even if the number of buses on the road doubled or trebled, angry scenes would still erupt as women – yes, it’s mainly women still who push buggies – try to manoeuvre them along the aisle.
And bearing in mind that more people are likely to take to the buses as the recession bites, this is a little problem that won’t go away.
Sooner or later something will need to be done.
Either we will end up with enforceable edicts from drivers to fold up push-chairs or buses will need to be redesigned with wider aisles to allow for buggies.IT was unquestioningly a very clever idea – to design a bus so that it could comfortably accommodate push-chairs (see page 3).
In the old days when passengers were regarded strictly as second-class fare, parents were expected to fold up push-chairs on boarding a bus.
Today, higher expectations and wider and better-designed buses mean it’s possible to push the buggy straight onto the bus.
However, the designers, manufacturers and municipal transport agencies didn’t take into account what would happen if push-chairs got bigger at the same time as more and more people began to use buses.
It’s difficult to blame parents for preferring today’s big buggies, which can double up to carry shopping and family accessories. Nor would one want fewer people to use buses to make room for them!
However, even if the number of buses on the road doubled or trebled, angry scenes would still erupt as women – yes, it’s mainly women still who push buggies – try to manoeuvre them along the aisle.
And bearing in mind that more people are likely to take to the buses as the recession bites, this is a little problem that won’t go away.
Sooner or later something will need to be done.
Either we will end up with enforceable edicts from drivers to fold up push-chairs or buses will need to be redesigned with wider aisles to allow for buggies. And if that cannot be done, then buses will have to become a no-go zone for big buggies.
Calling time on cheap alcohol
ONCE again, voices are being heard to raise the price of alcohol in what is an age-old war against booze.
This week Britain’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, made another pre-emptive move.
But even this experienced civil servant must have been surprised at how quickly he was sat on by the Prime Minister and his juniors.
Or was the doctor simply flying a kite to keep the public on the alert?
This week we report how even the big names in the High Street end up breaking the law by selling alcohol to children.
There is an inevitability about this because demand for alcohol can be so great, and in what can be a melee at the check-out till, mistakes can be made.
The real issue comes down to price. Sir Liam knows it – and has warned the nation. Gordon Brown employs him as the nation’s family doctor but refuses to take his advice.
The Prime Minister will never act against overpowering vested interests in the retail trade of today’s supermarkets any more than he will act against any of the large private interests in other parts of the economy.
And if that cannot be done, then buses will have to become a no-go zone for big buggies.
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