Spacing is crowd-sourcing opinions from our readers on stroller etiquette for buses, streetcars, and the subway. Please tell us where you think parents and caregivers should place strollers during their ride on Toronto transit vehicles. We’d also like to hear your tips on how other riders should help (or not) people with strollers.
We will be using this information for an article in our upcoming winter edition of the magazine.
Photo by Sam Javanrouh
35 comments
Because I take classes at odd hours, I often ride the bus outside commuting hours, which means during stroller hours, and the larger strollers do tend to cause issues, whether they’re double strollers or just gigantic for no reason. I really wish the TTC would just treat strollers like wheelchairs and ask people to park them in the handicapped section with the seats up. Trying to keep strollers in the aisles just clogs everything up so people can’t effectively get on and off the bus. It slows everything down. I don’t know if there’s legislation around the wheelchair seating zones that prevent them from being used for strollers, but it never happens, and I think it would help if it did.
“stroller etiquette ” starts with users not bringing SUV sized strollers on transit. Use only small fold up ones and maybe take the kid out, fold it up and sit the child on your lap. Large 3 wheeled strollers meant for sidewalks/trails and jogging take up too much room on a bus and block the aisle for others. Two strollers create a safety hazard for other riders when they interfere with passage along the aisle. Plain and simple.
I am pleased this is being discussed, but the premise is difficult.
The design of transit vehicles and the lack of accessibility of so many subway stations is not the fault of people who travel by stroller or the people who assist people in strollers. As far as I can tell, there are not really a lot of options to begin with where strollers should be placed on vehicles. Where there is space!
The design, cost and availability of strollers is not the fault of people who travel by stroller or the people who assist people in strollers. The options here are limited (or unlimited) depending on your finances.
Just like anyone else who rides on transit, people who ride in strollers and who push them do not wish to inconvenience others and try their best to accommodate other transit riders, but the system is flawed due to aforementioned design issues.
As far as etiquette goes, I think the most important thing I have found is giving people time to get on and off vehicles as well as in and out of stations.
Sure, you may want to rush up the stairs or escalator or jump off the train quickly, but giving people in strollers that extra 10-15 seconds of time and space to get on and off or up and down stairs/escalators safely will not hurt your day. You can wait that amount of time as a matter of respect and courtesy. That 10-15 seconds can be stressful enough and trying to rush is going to make it all the more difficult for everyone.
Strollers should be placed in designated handicap areas of vehicles. On buses, this means that the seats should be flipped up, and strollers are not in the aisle. Parents/stroller pushers should stand.
In New York you (still, I think) can’t bring a stroller on the subway unless it’s folded or can fit through a turnstile. I see these big strollers as a potential disaster in an emergency when they will block exit routes and be trampled, baby and all.
I believe transport operators like the TTC should mandate strollers being brought aboard public transport to be collapsible so as they may be folded and placed in a small space in front of or neatly beside parents. I cannot tell you how much strollers (and other bulky items) slow down the boarding/ alighting process. Strollers should also be placed in the priority seating area, only when not occupied by priority persons.
The best spot on buses and streetcars is usually the single, forward facing seats behind the driver. It allow the stroller to be pulled next to the seat and out of the way and is far enough back to allow others to access to further back in the vehicle. It’s important to remember on bus and streetcars it’s difficult to get the stroller out the rear doors, especially without help, so staying reasonably close to the front is necessary.
The best spot on buses and streetcars is usually the single, forward facing seats behind the driver. It allows the stroller to be pulled next to the seat and out of the way and is far enough back to allow others to access to further back in the vehicle. It’s important to remember on bus and streetcars it’s difficult to get the stroller out the rear doors, especially without help, so staying reasonably close to the front is necessary.
it is never OK for a TTC rider to hang onto a stroller as a support (in lieu of a pole or overheard handle). The stroller is not affixed to anything. You endanger not only yourself (the stroller will not prevent you from falling) but also the child in the stroller if you tip it over/fall on the child.
Careful. Imagine if we asked the question where should we put elderly people or people who use wheelchairs? Children and parents have a right to travel and we should help them. Ideally there are set stroller areas. Better yet address the real issue which is get us an accessible fleet and more service to reduce the overcrowding and discomfort that has us attacking our fellow riders. We need to be advocating for fair finding for the TTC together.
I’m a TTC operator and I ask people with strollers to lift the wheelchair seats and put the strollers there. It cuts down 3 seats but at least it keeps the aisles clear.
It can be very stressful getting on the TTC with a stroller but as the other option can be not going anywhere it has to happen. I don’t think equating strollers to backpacks (big things that clog the aisles) is fair or wise. There’s a small person in that stroller who has less ability for patience and complicated thought than the adults around them (one hopes). As for etiquette… Help people with strollers up and down stairs and give way.
Also there is no way to collapse a stroller to get on the ttc. You have no idea how much stuff is in and on a stroller in addition to the baby (diapers, change of clothes, blankets, food…) one person could not hold it all and a child. Not to mention if the baby is asleep it’s insanity to pull her/him out and wake them up.
As a non-driver and a mother with a 1 year old the TTC is the ONLY option to get across the city. 90% of the time I walk, sometimes for HOURS. It’s so much easier than trying to find space, a subway station that’s accessible and better yet someone who will help on and off with a stroller. To the individuals stating the child must be out of the stroller and the stroller should be collapsable, have you ever taken a newborn out of a stroller just to get on the streetcar? Have you just plopped her on your lap while carrying a stroller and diaper bag? Id like to meet you for tips if this is something you’ve actually done in real life. The bigger issue is the distain that people on transit have for children in general. The looks and eye rolls I’ve received on the TTC makes you feel like you’re really not welcome. This includes looks and sighs from drivers and riders. The bottom line is the system is not setup to accommodate families. The demographics of the downtown core have definitely changed over the last 20-30 years. More families are calling condos and apartments a forever home. We’re not all leaving to the suburbs anymore and therefore need to have reliable transportation options that are welcoming.
I’m often frustrated by people with strollers trying to board already-crowded buses first, slowing down the boarding process. I always move right to the very back of the bus, but if the stroller boards first, I then often can’t get past to the back. (Or if I can, it’s much slower).
Double-parking the strollers–when there’s room behind–is also a constant frustration for me. I understanding wanting to stay near the front of the bus, but it’s often impossible to get past!
Of course, the number of people who don’t move even a few steps out of the way for a boarding stroller horrifies me. Look around and be courteous!
I would like to suggest that Spacing have face-to-face conversations with both parents and non-parents on this topic. I push a large stroller and use transit a lot. (Almost never buses or streetcars though.) I try to travel outside of rush-hour, and to use a baby carrier when I can. But a full day of running errands sometime necessitates a large stroller.
I would argue that people suggesting collapsible strollers and doing so on the TTC are not parents and have little to no experience travelling with small children. Most collapsible strollers don’t fold or unfold with one hand. This would require taking you child out, setting them on the ground, hoping they don’t fall over or crawl away, unloading your stroller basket, then collapsing the stroller and then trying to navigate carrying all of these things. Not going to happen.
Most parents I have seen have been immensely respectful in their use of strollers on the subway. Getting around with little ones is hard no matter how you do it, and it’s neither fair nor respectful to expect caregivers to avoid travelling. We know how much space we take up. We try hard to limit it. It’s not always possible.
Hi Angela et al:
Our editors are talking to lots of people but we wanted to reach a wide audience to gauge their opinions. Also, Spacing’s editors are parents too and have taken transit with strollers, so we’re coming at this from multiple vantage points.
Matthew Blackett
Spacing editor & publisher
As a parent who doesn’t have a car and relies on the TTC for transport, I understand how challenging it can be to get around with a stroller. That said, with few exceptions (like twins or tiny infants), I don’t see why parents choose to use big strollers when out on transit. The “umbrella” style strollers can be folded up with one hand (while the other hand is holding the child) and they make negotiating transit so much easier for everybody. They are what is essentially mandated in NYC (a city where most people rely on transit to get about). They are also inexpensive enough that someone with a fancy big stroller (perhaps to jog with) can easily afford to have both.
Large strollers are needlessly cumbersome on the TTC, as well as in many stores. It is true that toddlers often need to have a stroller when out for the day, because they cannot walk as long as an adult and they are too heavy to carry everywhere, but there is no reason why they have to be so large.
I just don’t go on the TTC with my stroller and my son. Our local subway stop has no elevators or down escalators. And everyone is grumpy if you take a stroller on a streetcar. Too bad for us, but it makes me so frustrated and exhausted and enraged that it’s not worth it. It gives me a sliver of a peek into how disempowering and structurally unfair our city is for people with disabilities.
Nicole: Large strollers are the only thing that allowed me to get my kid out during the winter. Umbrella strollers are useless in the snow. I agree that umbrella strollers are fine for the warmer months, but they are certainly not “needlessly cumbersome”.
My wife and I have the luxury of living downtown with our two boys (aged 2 and 3), and during the warmer months if she or I need to take them any distance longer than a 30-45 minute walk, we use a bicycle and a trailer. We have a double stroller, but have managed to avoid taking it on the TTC so far. I’ve managed to wear our youngest, while pushing the oldest in a lightweight umbrella stroller (that folds easily with one hand) and board a bus and streetcar with the stroller in one hand and my oldest son’s hand in the other as he clambers up the steps or jumps the gap. There are times when I was out with both kids and wished I had our big stroller with me, but I leave it at home so as to not inconvenience other riders. People make such an issue over it, like it’s the worst thing in the world to have to side step or shuffle around a piece of equipment designed to help care for our youngest and most vulnerable members of society. Not everyone can travel transit as I can with two little ones, and for those that require their strollers and need to take the TTC with it, they can use a little understanding. I’m sure most parents dread having to take a stroller on public transit, but they likely have no other choice. If you see a parent struggling with a stroller on a streetcar, cut them some slack, because their day likely isn’t nearly as easy as yours.
Strollers are mobility devices for young humans who cannot walk far or at all. As such they deserve to be accommodated, without grudge, on public transit — just like any other mobility device. Most buses now have at least one bank of front seats that can be lifted to accommodate motorized scooters and other mobility devices — these could easily be employed for strollers whenever doing so seems necessary.
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Having said that, parents who use transit should consider buying strollers on the smaller size. There are plenty of very good ones that are perfectly serviceable for urban conditions. When I was pregnant (2008), my wonderful students bought me a budget-priced stroller, which happened to be the perfect size for transit. It was larger than an umbrella stroller but much smaller than the SUV-style strollers currently in wide use. What we did most of the time was sit in one of the single seats, with the stroller close alongside. This resulted in minimal aisle blockage.
P.S. With a few notable brand exceptions, most umbrella-style strollers are too low to push comfortably for long, and have wheels that are far too small to work well on city streets.
P.P.S. Small children are safest strapped in to their mobility devices. The suggestion that strollers be folded on transit is unrealistic and unsafe.
P.P.P.S. I think it would be great for the TTC to have some stroller-related public service announcements. Beginning with a commitment to accommodating strollers like any other mobility device, it could include a few suggestions about navigating the TTC by stroller. I suspect a lot of people bringing strollers on buses don’t really know how or where best to place them.
I do take a medium-sized stroller on TTC when needed. I prefer to carry my baby on TTC, but at times the stroller is needed! I do wish that buses had a permanent section without seats (as do many vancouver buses) so that I could easily tuck my stroller in there without needing to lift seats, ask people to move, etc. Since not all subway stations are accessible and most streetcars have stairs, this leaves buses as the most accessible form of transit.
I think the design of buses and streetcars is a big part of the problem. Obviously it’s easiest to keep strollers near the front doors, particularly on streetcars, but that does cause problems with boarding. I’d be in favour of some seats being taken out for a designated stroller zone (plus stroller driver, obviously) and keep the aisles somewhat clearer. My hope is that some of this will be eased when the streetcars go to all door boarding.
At times I have boarded a ttc bus where there have been as many as four suv sized strollers on board. It is rush hour and all other passengers have to literally climb over these strollers while their owners don’t even make an attempt to move them out of the way. Furthermore, some of the children in these strollers are way to old to be sitting in them anyway! I’ve noticed that a lot. I applaud the men and women who travel on the ttc with their infants in slings/carriers. Bottom line, ttc should have a limit to the maximum number of strollers which can be on board (especially buses) during certain travel times in the day. Wasn’t something like that implemented with bikes? Either way, it’s annoying having to navigate your way over these beasts of strollers without trying to knock into the precious cargo inside. TTC, there really does need to be a better way.
I think it’s an infrastructure problem, not an etiquette problem. Why on earth is there no obvious place on transit vehicles for strollers, bicycles and other large objects? Babies have the same right to take up space as anyone else, but it’s just poor planning that puts that space necessarily in other people’s way at the moment. (I used a backpack carrier for my kid instead of a stroller, but that requires quite a lot of strength and balance.)
To Raymonds comment: I’m a pretty fit guy, but I can’t imagine holding my daughter with one hand and removing her diaper bag, the groceries I just bought that are also in the stroller, and folding the whole thing up with the other hand.
It seems that lots of comments come from commuters that have not commuted using a stroller. Once you become a parent and start having to get around in a city such as Toronro without having access to a car it changes your perspective. Our big stroller is a necessity. In a bus, streetcar or subway it is safer for my child to stay strapped in her stroller than on my lap. And the stroller has much needed storage for running errands that cannot be accomplished with an umbrella type. (we have both). Most umbrella strollers also cannot be used before a child is 6 months and lasting umbrella type strollers can still go shy of 300$. As inconvenient as it is for commuters to get around of strollers, it’s even more difficult to navigate TTC with a stroller as lots of stations and streetcars are still not accessible. (we have to walk to a further station from home because ours does not have elevators). This said, I avoid using my stroller during rush hour out of respect for other commuters, but I don’t sense the respect reflected back most of the time.
I see that some people are proposing to treat them like wheelchairs and simply flip up the front seats. This is the current etiquette in Ottawa and it works great here. However most bus models used by OC Transpo have 2 wheelchair spots (one on each side of the aisle in the front), whereas the TTC generally only has one, and none at all on streetcars. While this is still a good start, the moment a second stroller or somebody in a wheelchair boards the bus we’re back to having a problem.
For the subway though this seems like the best option by far.
Stroller size is definitely an issue and strollers should be allowed to use the disabled space if necessary.
Stroller should not be allowed in the front wheel well area. It’s a pain getting past a striker parked there and it slows down the loading process.
The interior configuration of the bus can looked at.
A simple start would be make Blue seats like in new streetcars. Normally up. Stroller number one goes there and adult stands, or sits in non-blue seat next to it. Possibly stroller/chair symbol on floor. Wheelchair gets priority. Then seniors etc. Stroller number two goes where it can without blocking aisle.
BTW If you are not qualified to use Blue seats, do NOT sit there! How is that for etiquette?
I take transit all the time. I have no children and have never had to struggle to get a stroller on a bus or streetcar. I think that would be nightmarish enough as is, it shouldn’t be made harder.
Large strollers are of course rather inconvenient on transit, but people who are taking their children on transit may not have the choice of having both a large and more compact stroller for different uses, or maybe have been given the stroller as a present, or chose the large one for a variety of other important reasons. It is also not that practical to ask parents to fold the stroller when they get on transit. Now they have to handle a stroller and an infant.
Ideally I think it would be best if strollers were placed in the handicapped area whenever possible, and that if fully able people are occupying those seats they should move. The only time I felt a stroller should have been moved on transit was on a bus when the stroller was loaded and placed right in front of the back door so it completely blocked it. It would have been better in the aisle.
Blue seats. Add strollers to the priority seating list!
Alden said:
“Blue seats. Add strollers to the priority seating list!”
NO! Strollers and their users do not warrant priority for seating. That means the aisle is blocked because the passenger sits next to or behind the stroller.
Small fold-up umbrella strollers are a non-starter, folks. Please stop suggesting that as a solution. A baby is under six months cannot sit up and needs to be supported and kept safe in a reclining-style seat. Also, umbrella strollers do not have wheels built for snow or decent snow/rain protection for the occupant. Finally, squirmy older babies are not good lap-sitters, especially with all the other stuff that they require for an outing.
The best place I have found is along the single-seat row, because I can pull the stroller right next to me without blocking the aisle. Unfortunately, those are usually taken.
People have to carry everything with them on transit – whether in a backpack, shopping cart, bags or a stroller. We all have to get along as well as get where we are going. A bit of compassion can go a long way.