Hold the Bus Seats for the Elderly and Disabled

What is the Issue?

There is a problem with riding public transportation. It has been going on for years. People hate it, but rarely do anything about it except silently complain or grumble under their breath.

The main problem is a profuse lack of courtesy. Men, but mainly women refuse to roll up their baby carriages while boarding the bus, trolley or train. As they board crowded buses, they try to push their strollers through the crowd. This makes riding the bus a very unpleasant experience because these riders are fully able bodied and have no excuse for not rolling up their carriages to make more space on the bus.

Just as egregious is the disrespect to elderly and wheel chair passengers. Commuters with baby carriages are taking the priority seats reserved for the disabled and elderly riders. They take up the seats and large empty spaces designated for passengers who use a wheelchair.

Why is it a Problem?

It is the height of rude behavior and lack of consideration. Those seats and empty spaces are not for passenger with babies and baby carriages. It’s for people who can’t sit anywhere else. That’s why the designated seats are at the front of the bus. It is so disabled and elderly people can get on and off the vehicle with minimum help. They shouldn’t have to push and shove the other passengers to get off at their stop.

Baby carriages used to be small, just wide enough for the baby. They were easy to fold up. Now they are huge. They can take up the entire aisle. No one can get past them. Women are also so bold as to get on the bus with double wide carriages. And sometimes there is more than one baby carriage that gets on the same bus.

Women or men get their feet stomped on by baby carriages, double carriages and strollers. When the baby carriages are open, they can’t or refuse go to the back of the bus so more people can get in. They stay at the front. When your stop comes up, you have to push your way through the crowd and past the baby carriages to get out.

People used to respect the elderly and disabled. When a weak or feeble person came on the bus, not only would a man help him or her coming up the steps, but another person would stand and give his seat to that person. Women today get angry when you ask them to get up from the chair designated for an elderly person. They get doubly agitated when you ask them to remove their giant baby bag from the seat next to her so a disabled person can sit down.

How Can it Be Solved?

Those seats for the disabled and the large and spaces at the front of the bus or trolley were established by the American for Disabilities Act. It was enacted to allow disabled people to be able to take public transportation so that they are not trapped in their homes. They can go to a job, go shopping, etc. by being able to sit at the front of the train or wheel their chairs and/or walker into space designated for such.

Either the empty spaces are reserved or they’re not. Able bodied people should not use those seats. The wheelchair areas are specifically designated for frail people. Other passengers on the bus should speak up and complain to the driver when a baby carriage goes there.

Women with baby carriages are not a privileged or special class based on need. A woman or man should be stopped at the door and required to fold up their strollers before boarding public transportation even if for safety reasons.

If the reserved space is empty, strollers should be able to use it. But if a passenger with a wheelchair or is elderly or disabled, the passenger with a stroller should be made to move out of that space. The bus or trolley driver should enforce it, just as he or she must enforce the no smoking policy.

At the End of the Day

Sometimes common courtesy must be regulated. You can see what happens when rules are not enforced. Anarchy is allowed to have its way. The elderly and people with physical disabilities should be given top priority on the public bus, train, or trolley. Anyone else in those areas is inconsiderate, rude, and inappropriate, but essentially out of federal compliance. They should be required to move so a handicapped person can have the space.