NYC Mommies Ask MTA to Allow Open Strollers on Buses

By Yehudit Garmaise

Probably the only thing harder than getting through airport security with a baby, or more, in a stroller, is boarding a city bus with a little one in tow: especially considering the rule of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) that strollers must be completely collapsed before boarding.

Several New York City mommies explained to MTA leaders on Tuesday how challenging it is to collapse strollers, while simultaneously ensuring infants’ and other children’s safety, finding MetroCards, and balancing all other necessary belongings.

The MTA says safety reasons and the need to save space for other passengers are the reasons the agency requires parents to collapse their baby carriages, however, buses on Chicago, Washington, DC, and Dallas allow unfolded strollers, as long as they allow enough room for other passengers to pass.

“It’s a total nightmare, but more importantly, it feels very unsafe for me,” Elisabeth Koechlin told the MTA board’s New York City Transit Committee, amNewYork reported. “Truly, being a mom in NYC is hard enough as it is, and for us moms who rely on public transportation: currently it is really a struggle.”

Although no changes to the MTA’s stroller policy resulted after a Brooklyn dad gathered 50,000 signatures in 2017 for an online petition that called on MTA to relax its stroller rules, an MTA spokesperson said the agency will take a “fresh look” at the safety hazards that open strollers pose.