MTA to Allow Open Strollers on 1,000 more City Buses

By Yehudit Garmaise

Parents will soon be able to bring open strollers on 1,000 more City buses, whose routes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will announce in the coming weeks.

In September 2021, the MTA began to allow open strollers on 142 buses that served seven routes after many NYC parents complained that the MTA required them to fold their strollers and carry their young children while riding buses.

While some might argue that open strollers take up too much space on crowded buses, Tzirie G., who has brought her baby with her when taking the bus in Boro Park, reported that many bus drivers have screamed at her to close up her baby’s carriage: even when the bus was completely empty.

“Imagine walking up the steps to the bus with a few kids, a toddler, and a baby in a stroller that we have to fold,” Tzirie said. “It is just very difficult to manage.”

The MTA’s expansion of buses that will allow open strollers will apply to 20% of the city’s fleet of MTA buses.

Before the MTA rolled out its new open stroller policy on some routes last year, some disability rights advocates worried that wheelchair users and parents with strollers might feel they were competing for space, however, thankfully, MTA officials said no such conflicts arose in the past year.

“The feedback from our customers and operators has been overwhelmingly positive, and we have no reported incidents related to open strollers on our buses,” Annicaro said.

In fact, both customers and bus drivers have reported faster and easier boarding experiences, more comfortable bus rides, and more positive interactions with fellow riders on routes that allow open strollers, the MTA reported.