Monday, May 6, 2013

No Open Baby Strollers On Roosevelt Island Red Bus But Yes To Open Dog Stroller Complains Roosevelt Island Mom - RIOC Policy Is Strollers At Discretion Of Bus Driver

A Roosevelt Island Mom, Mrs Borjas, reports:

Dogs can be in strollers but not babies Incredible!! RIOC allows dogs in strollers to ride the Red Bus (and they sure can walk), but they make parents close the strollers and carry their babies during rush hours.... So now dogs have more rights than persons?
and shares this photo taken last Saturday afternoon on the Red Bus.


As previously reported, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Red Bus baby stroller policy is:
Revised Bus Policy

Hand baggage, instrument cases, bundles and parcels may be carried onto RIOC buses by customers provided that these articles can be carried on without inconveniencing other customers and/or the driver and does not obstruct the bus aisle or doors. Persons with unfolded strollers and/or shopping carts are not permitted to board RIOC buses unless the driver, at his or her sole discretion, determines that it will not cause an inconvenience or safety hazard to other customers or the driver. Orthopedic (wheelchair type) strollers for children with disabilities are permitted on buses just as wheelchairs are and must be secured in the wheelchair area. Bus operators must check strollers carefully to ensure that children with disabilities are not denied accessible service.

Updated signage has been posted on buses stating:

"Strollers and Shopping Carts must be folded upon operator’s request".

14 comments :

CheshireKitty said...

If RIOC is going to permit dog strollers, then it should permit strollers for kids. Small dogs can also be transported on buses in carrying bags which take up much less room than strollers - so it is not an absolute that a stroller is always needed to transport a dog on a bus.

YetAnotherRIer said...

I don't understand that mother's complaint. Was she rejected by the driver to bring her child's stroller onto the bus saw the open dog stroller? Or is it about the new policy but then there is a dog stroller on the bus? Did she ask the driver what happened? There seems to be a big disconnect here.

westviewgirl said...

some people just love to complain over, and over and over again. ..the dog may have been sick, blind or could not walk. Tired of hearing people complain about the bus, about Gristedes, about PSD, about everything...like a broken record. Move off the island people, or just know you live in Manhattan! Stop complaining all the time over and over about the same things please, either do something positive to change things in your life around you or just not say anything and live life and be positive and try to treat others good and your self good.

CheshireKitty said...

Nobody's complaining about the dog - if it was disabled of course it should be allowed on the bus in a stroller. I'm just questioning not having parity/equality re the policy of not allowing open strollers - if it's not allowed for kids, it shouldn't be allowed for dogs (unless the dog is too big to be carried about in a portable box or bag).

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Frank Farance said...

I agree with YetAnotherRIer's summary. I saw these pups on Sunday, they were cute (see photo). While I agree with the policy of allowing unfolded strollers on buses, I'm not sure what is wrong with this incident since it appears no one was denied any service, a seat, or accommodation, right?

Mickgirl said...

The Red Bus operates under the same rules as the MTA, which demands that all pets be in a closed cage. It is unfortunate that this mother had a bad experience, but I have been ticketed by the MTA for having my pet on a leash and NOT in a stroller/cage etc. I think it is silly to punish either.

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CheshireKitty said...

I understand the mom's complaint. She's saying that drivers make moms fold up stroller and put kids on their laps, but drivers do not make dog owners fold up dog strollers even though many dogs can be safely contained in bags - which take up much less room. She says in this dog owners are being given a break parents of kids are not. Having multiple dogs, as in Frank's photo, would mean having to juggle a couple of different bags I suppose - making it unrealistic to expect those owners to fold their stroller and place the dogs into bags. Of course we make allowances for disabled dogs and kids and of course the policy for either pets or kids is applied at the driver's discretion; if the bus is empty there is no need to fold strollers. What the mom is complaining about is that the stroller policy in effect for kids is not being applied to dogs although in many instances it could be.

YetAnotherRIer said...

It happens very rarely that the driver asks a parent to fold a stroller. Even during rush hours. Many people here already points out that this is a consequence of

YetAnotherRIer said...

Well, that pretty much implies that dog owners should be free to bring their dogs into the bus without having it restrained in a cage or stroller, right? Same rights for everybody.

Frank Farance said...

Nally, four points:
- If a person is healthy, do they have less of a right to use mass transportation? (Based upon that thinking, we'd shoo away red bus passengers who "looked healthy".)
- Sometimes a person's condition might not be readily visible.
- Although some buildings have a no-dog policy, seniors and disabled were permitted to have a dog (i.e., a non-service dog). Why do you think regulation/courts permit a non-service dog? Clearly, they see some essential value to the person (and society).
- I can't see how you infer that "shopping carts and dogs have priority overriding the bus than babies" because no one was denied access, service, or accommodation to test that hypothesis. It just seems as if the bus driver was using common sense, and the passenger presented herself in a way that was consistent with the rules (e.g., dogs in a carrier, stroller, suitcase, whatever).


The person who was alone, who has a dog for companionship, who might have been tired from prior activities or was short on time, has learned to navigate the system's rules is it her cleverness that has upset you?


Framing this in the Driver's Ed class mentality of "an ambulance, a police car, and a mail truck arrive at an all-way stop exactly at the same time, who has a right of way?" (answer: the mail truck, because it's Federal, the police car is State, and the ambulance is City - at least that's how they described in in Driver's Ed) ...


If a wheelchair, a person on crutches, a senior with a non-service dog, a seriously pregnant women with a shopping cart, and a young parent with a child in a stroller all arrive at the same time for a crowded red bus during rush hour ... well at that point you might get some insight on how the policy works (or not) and provides the right degree of accommodation (or not). But that isn't this scenario.

Kwame Osei-sarfo said...

Just put the babies in in a dog stroller. DONE ;)

CheshireKitty said...

Top comment, Kwame!