In message
, MIG
writes
There are probably societies where everyone on the bus would see it as
their responsibility to help, eg hold the child while the mother folds
the buggy etc,

Malta is one!

We travelled back from Valetta to Qawra one day on a crowded bus [1]
where a child literally screamed his head off to the point where we were
ready to do the same ourselves but everyone else on the bus just smiled
indulgently and admired the little boy and his impressive little lungs!
I think it's just the Mediterranean temperament and love of families.
As Northern European Anglos Saxons this was completely alien to us!
:-))


but in a society where everyone is on their own, while
others just look on and tut, they'll make whatever arrangements they
see fit, and good luck to em.

Being serious for a moment, London and other places have made good
progress in recent years making space for buggies. The problem seems
to arise when the space is full. Parents or carers have become so used
to not folding the buggy, they feel that they never have to.

Now, I *have* heard stories of drivers refusing to wait *while* a mother
folded a buggy (First 121 or 126 in Somerset, for reference) but for the
most part the problem does seem to be the adults not accepting when a
space is already full.



[1] There seems to be no other sort in Malta!
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk