On the bus

On a recent Friday, we took the bus into town. Usually, we take the car; but with holidays, the Festival and Fringe, the pedestrianisation of George Street and various other considerations – okay, I needed some exercise – we found ourselves tripping into town on the bus. It made a pleasant change.

I was a bit baffled at the sight of a tiny tot sitting entirely un-restrained on one of the front seats, though. Surely, buses could introduce lap-belts or something? I am supposing that the usual argument against introducing seat belts on buses is that they are impractical, and expensive to install. Little children so trustingly clamber over the seats, sit where they are put or stand up taller to gaze wonderingly out of the windows at all the new stuff outside.

I am assuming that the policy against seatbelts was first formulated when older buses followed these routes. The older vehicles had handles on the backs of seats fitted close together, making the tighter spaces somewhat easier to navigate. Going to alight from a modern, more spacious bus while it is on the move, is akin to falling through space and hoping for a place to land safely. Ideally, vulnerable passengers should sit near the front, and only start to walk to the exit when the bus is stopped, but that is rarely feasible in practice.

It is asking too much, to assume that drivers will always drive sedately, or that they will never have to stop suddenly, or swerve in a hurry to avoid something. Buckling and belting up for private car journeys is standard. So why are bus journeys treated differently? Puzzled of Edinburgh is glad that her daughter is old enough to take her own sensible precautions. She remains concerned that mothers, juggling the demands of prams, push-chairs and young children, are not getting the consideration they deserve.