Comments on: Baby Board: a baby-on-bus solution

By: Adventures in MamaLand

Adventures in MamaLand — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:03:47 +0000

P.S. I meant to say way BIGGER than my Ergo. Mommy brain. :-)))

By: Adventures in MamaLand

Adventures in MamaLand — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:03:19 +0000

Totally dumb. Sorry. D.U.M.B.

The footprint is only slightly smaller than a stroller and WAY smaller than my Ergo.

Actually, I just came home from wrestling with a toddler plus baby plus Pliko on Toronto’s insanely inaccessible streetcars (steep stairs with a narrow twist at the top and too narrow for a stroller once you get on board). I’ve found the best and only solution for bringing baby along on public transit: have your teenagers first so you’ll always have an accomplice to grab the other end of the stroller! (my older kids are 13 and 14)

Wheelchairs do get priority here, too. We work it out like true Canadians – by out-nicing each other. If someone needs extra room on a bus, subway or streetcar, we just give it to them.

Somebody may end up having to take the next bus, but that’s a small price to pay for an excellent universal – and universally POLITE – transit system.

So bah, humbug to the Baby Ball Transit solution. What parent has a hand free to push or support the stroller at all times anyway???

By: Amber

Amber — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:30:35 +0000

Does the ball have a grip-tread? Will it slide around on wet pavement? Is it incredibly bouncy and uncomfortable to push over cobbles and uneven sidewalks for those pushing it (and riding in it?) I imagine after pushing it a few blocks one’s arm would be sore from the effort of holding it UP while also pushing. Especially for those of us who had big babies.

Plus, if you have errands to run, you’ll presumably have bags to carry on the way back, and I’ll bet that thing’s hard to control with one arm. For that matter, what if you had a toddler as well? No way you could hold one kid’s hand and push this thing with the other.

And I agree, a five-point is a must.

I think it’s a fabulous idea, but it definitely needs some beta-testing and focus group input from some people with kids.

By: susan

susan — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:16:55 +0000

This is definitely an interesting product. I think I would be willing to try it if it had a 5 point harness and I could get a bike helmet for my son. With the thing only having one wheel it doesn’t look too stable and I am a klutz. It sort of reminds me of a papoose some native american indian tribes used as baby wearing devises.

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:33:10 +0000

Yep, I’m with everyone else. That looks like it would tip over in a stiff wind. It also looks rather uncomfortable for the baby. Does it really even take up less room then an umbrella stroller when the kick stand is out? Oh wait maybe you are meant to lay it flat under the seats of the bus!! That way your baby doesn’t tip over and is out of the way of other passengers! Brilliant!

…I don’t see this ever making it to market.

By: PAUL

PAUL — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:34:47 +0000

You’re way off, AJ. Everybody knows Scotland is NOT a land of giants. The reason the bus stop signs are so tall is so the Loch Ness Monster can read them.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:53:28 +0000

It rains a lot in Scotland (and where I live in Portland)… totally not practical. No rain shield and seems rather awkward to move around. And sure the kick stand works on level ground but on a moving bus I can see it toppling over.

By: AJ

AJ — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:50:33 +0000

Tanya, what about the driver and all the passengers sitting on the first floor of the double-decker bus? Don’t they deserve an eye-level sign too?

Let’s be real. The buses are so tall because they’re filled with giants.

By: Jennie D

Jennie D — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:39:25 +0000

It’s neat looking, but not for me. I’m clumbsy and wouldn’t feel safe pushing/pulling my child around in something that could fall over so easily.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:21:42 +0000

Is that a double-decker bus in the photo? If so, maybe that’s why the sign is so tall.

I’m with Paul… it reminds me of a Dyson vacuum.