Parents want stroller rule on NYC buses changed

NEW YORK - Juggling parenting and commuting can be difficult in the city — just ask anyone with a toddler.

"It's totally impossible to remove a baby from a stroller fold because you need two hands to fold the stroller," Danielle Avissar said. "Where do you put the stroller?"  

Avissar is part of a group of parents calling on the MTA to relax its policy requiring strollers to be folded on buses. The MTA said the policy is in place for safety and to allow room for other passengers.

"We took a look at this prior to the pandemic, and we had felt that there were some safety implications," NYC Transit interim president Craig Cipriano said. "Mainly around strollers that could not be strapped down on board the bus with potentially short stops."

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Meanwhile, a lot of New Yorkers have come to rely on the buses as an economical and safe option for travel considering many subway stops do not have an elevator.

"I was an avid subway rider. I completely stopped because of the increased crime. It got really scary after COVID," Avissar said. "And then you don't want to get trapped on a car train with a lunatic and a baby."

Avissar and other parents spoke in front of the MTA Board in February.

"My solution to them was that we share the area with disabled and an elderly and also relax the rules during non-rush hours or if the bus is empty, for instance," she said. "But I've had bus drivers humiliate me and say that they're not going to move the bus."

Cipriano said the MTA will take a "fresh look" at the current policy and will have more information by the next committee cycle.

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