The Stroller Incident

Without even having read this chapter, I am sure there are operators who once they saw this subheading, rolled their eyes to the back of their head. Likewise, regular riders of the 22 Fillmore certainly have paragraphs of stories they could add to this chapter. Anyone who has rode past Fillmore and Haight has the story of the “stroller incident.”

When a mom and her armada awaits to board, I have to take in a deep breath, here goes. Please stand by. Perhaps we could put up a test screen. The kids can stand by the door and block, or be told in no uncertain words to MOVE and GET IN THE BUS. And there they stand, looking up in their innocent eyes, why me? And the stroller is now ready to bulldoze through the aisle, which is great with me because moving to the rear gets the bus out of the zone and moving down the road. But heaven help the poor unsuspecting student with their ear buds’ music on full blast in a multitask texting mode, or the senior with sore legs and weak knees having the fully loaded stroller run over their toes. And the wrath of the mother yelling to get out of the way and don’t tell me what to do.

But not all stroller incidents involve the mom being angry. The other type of stroller incident involves the all too common conflict of interest on who has a higher priority to use the front seats. When a large stroller and mom are boarding, I make sure she moves past the first chairs to the flip top area where wheel chairs go. Popping the brake, standing up and leaving the cockpit to flip up the wheelchair seats is a mind saver in avoiding future conflict. By being out of my seat and asking the one person to vacate for an incoming oversize object, works faster and better when I am present in the here and now. Usually, the person sitting in the area got on when seats were plentiful and “cheap,” and is not a disabled person. I have found out the hard way that leaving the aisle blocked with carts, strollers, fishing rods, surfboards, trikes, or Lord Knows What, adds to the likelihood of Fall On Board, and a reset of my safe driving record. As to those with oversize objects waiting in the zone, all I can say about this is the question, “What were you doing when you saw the bus was to arrive in 2 minutes?” Or “What were you doing while you were waiting for the bus?” Now, in all fairness, mom’s have a million and one things to be keeping track of, but perhaps that may be part of the problem. Certain stroller manufacturers make strollers not unlike an armored personnel carriers made for the military. And the gondolas of diapers, bottles, and playthings can turn a simple carriage in to a military industrial complex.

And so the best advice I can give is: bring help, or carry a lighter load. Usually those who have never taken transit before and are going to the park for the first time on a bus, are the ones who take a long time. And I find if I take an effort to help, all goes well. Am I a part of the solution, or a part of the problem? Often, someone at the stop is there to help. But it is when the coach is full and everyone has on their coat of arms, that problems such as the stroller incident occur. Do tell.

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