Suggestion: IET internal modifications to make them more buggy friendly

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

Create space maybe for *collapsed* buggies free of charge a la II's idea, but if their owners don't want to colapse, then a further ticket necessary as they'll take up similar space to a seat. That'll make 'em think.

[nf260]

Hi everyone

I found this forum after searching online about pushchairs and trains. I have just returned from a 6 hour train journey (of which about 3 1/2 hours was on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) with a 1 1/2 year old, and I think the pushchair policy is a disgrace.

To those saying that they can be folded - you have obviously never travelled with a young child who needs to sleep at unpredictable times (and makes quite a fuss if they don't manage it!).

To those saying pay for it - I'd be happy if I could actually sit in the seat I already paid for. Instead I spent several hours on recent journeys sitting on the floor by the doors, because this is the only place where I can keep the pushchair reclined. Meanwhile my reserved seat in the middle of the train was unoccupied.

Train travel needs to remain a realistic option for families with young children. For what its worth, I think the original suggestion in the thread is a good one.

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks nf260 and welcome to the forum.  The "That'll make 'em think" attitude quite frankly stinks.

[grahame]

Hi everyone

I found this forum after searching online about pushchairs and trains. I have just returned from a 6 hour train journey (of which about 3 1/2 hours was on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) with a 1 1/2 year old, and I think the pushchair policy is a disgrace.

Welcome to the forum - hope you found the comments "up-thread" useful in helping to fill you in on issues and points of view, if (sadly) not really leading to a consensus view, let alone an agreed solution. I hope you're now recovered after the journey and got a good night's sleep - that's assuming that (s)he sleeps through!

On one hand, the "bean counters" are all about numbers of seats these days and that leaves little / less space for cycles, dogs, baby carriages (please forgive the old-fashioned word - I want to be all-encompassing) .  But on the other hand they're all about the provision of facilities for those who are in wheelchairs; that does not include, though, those who are too young to be self-mobile yet.

Some of the suggestions for modifications made earlier are sensible.  Best use could and should be made of wheelchair spaces and seats near them for all those for whom they can make travel an acceptable experience ... with (perhaps) more such spaces added over time as trains are refitted during their life - but with the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) being so new, and the rail industry being so fast (not!) at doing things, that will be far too far in the future for your (or rather this) child.

It does sound as if the booking system could do with some tweaking, and perhaps even the fares and pricing?  Pretty useless having a seat reserved in the midst of the "airline" section if you need to keep the pushchair up.  We are due a fare system shakeup and one of the considerations should be passenger's needs; I worry about the law of unintended consequences, and of replacing one set of complex and obscure directives with another set that's different, but just as complex and obscure.

Train travel needs to remain a realistic option for families with young children. For what its worth, I think the original suggestion in the thread is a good one.

Indeed - and perhaps more so into the future.

[ChrisB]

The first thiong GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) needs to do is to have a seat selector as part of the booking process on their website. It seems that not to do sao is a Firstgroup 'initiative', as none of their franchises do.

However, When Avanti (First's takeover of Virgin West Coast franchise) removed the seat selector from a rebranded Virgin booking engine, it raised many complaints - such that they are tweeting that they are looking into providing one....so if Abanti do this, maybe their other franchises can be 'persuaded'.

Then it'll really be down to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to persuade their franchises to provide more of the wheelchair-type spaces for reservation by prams, I guess as it will mean a loss of standard seats to provide the space. The problem then becomes that the extra legroom provided will be attractive to all customers, not just those with prams.

[grahame]

A piece in "Conservative Woman" this morning ... I was about to follow up here but the whole question was so much wider than IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) that I've started a new thread ... http://www.passenger.chat/22723