I've always wondered how in the world parents get around on subways and buses with little kids in places like NYC. I've actually been in the city with my girls - in a stroller - and what I discovered in that people are very kind. They will help you down the stairs and generally, you can find someone to help you.
Banning strollers is a terrible idea. First, children have a right to "space" on the subway(as an example) as much as anyone else. The stroller is apart of their space. I appreciate that their need for space is more than others, but they still should have a place to be.
Second, If you want to ban strollers because they take up too much room...what about wheelchairs? On a bus, a wheelchair takes up a ton of space and it takes forever to load. You could get 3 or 4 people in the space of a chair - and faster too. So, how about no more wheelchairs?
Third, having parents hold their children is just not possible - or safe. I have twins. How am I supposed to hold two squirming 2 years old on my lap while being pressed on all sides by a ton of people? What if I have a third child - maybe a 4 year old? I need to hold his hand. And, what if we are all standing up? It's impossible. And, then, once I am holding two babies on my lap, who's going to fold up - and then unfold - the stroller for me? What if I have packages or groceries? Where do those go? On a subway, once my stroller is folded up, how do I unfold the stroller to put the babies back in (since now all space is used up), and if I can't, how do I pick up the stroller, my packages, and my two babies and make it to the doors so I can put everything back together on the platform. If I do have space to open the stroller (although I'm not sure how, since my hands are full), I probably need to start at least a stop ahead to get everything loaded so I can make it through the doors before they close.
Fourth - Taking a child in and out of a stroller, folding it up, then unfolding it, and putting the child/ren back in is time consuming. Depending on the length of the trip, one could arrive at their destination by the time they get everything situated, and then have to put everything back the way it was.
Fifth- some strollers are medically necessary. Some children can't walk and must be in a stroller. I suppose that's similar to
a wheelchair, which takes me back to point one.
Personally, I think it's a rather selfish attitude to expect and require one type of person to give up space they deserve just to fit one or two more people. I understand that at rush hour buses, trains and subways are crowded. But, really, that's just life. So you have to wait for the next train. That's just the way it is.
Kids are people too. They have as much right to space on public transportation as anyone else. Their space just includes the stroller they are riding in. Sure, parents in cities like NY should try to be space-conscious as possible in choosing a stroller, but you can only compact a double stroller but so much.
Unless you want to just ban kids altogether, banning strollers is just a ridiculous, impractical, and really, in my opinion, a rather selfish idea.
POD to all of this!!
Second, If you want to ban strollers because they take up too much room...what about wheelchairs? On a bus, a wheelchair takes up a ton of space and it takes forever to load. You could get 3 or 4 people in the space of a chair - and faster too. So, how about no more wheelchairs?
This is nowhere near comparable and I'm disappointed to see this comment on EH. Comparing someone who is forced to use a wheelchair to the someone *choosing* to use a stroller is unconscionable.
I'm not comparing the stroller with a wheelchair as a means to get around but, what is a parent to do if she needs to go to the grocery store and must take her baby? That stroller is a necessity, not a luxury. Same with a parent who has more than one child.
No a stroller is a want, not a need. About 25% of the parents I know have never even owned a stroller let alone used one, even with multiple kids. Heck my parents didn't have one for me (and I was a second child, less then 3 years younger then my older sibling).
Strollers absolutely make things easier and they are a valid parenting choice, but they are not required to function in society with a child.
A wheelchair on the other hand often is a required in order for the user to function successfully in the world and therefore is a need.
And that's why for example, handicapped parking spaces are legally protected and "mommy" spaces are merely an unenforceable courtesy.
A stroller may be a want for some. For others it is a
need.
For most of LK's infancy, I used a wrap. It was easier on the bus because the only "safe" stroller for her was very large. It kept her content and calm being close to mommy while we were out. It was easier for me to enjoy a coffee while she was in a wrap vs. trying to drink a coffee and push the stroller.
Now she is past 1 and is walking. Sometimes she is fine with being in the wrap. Often, especially when I am sitting, she is not. It is simply unsafe for me to be on the bus with her in the wrap now. So I take the stroller. If it annoys someone, that's their problem, not mine. I use the absolute smallest stroller I own while on the bus. It is a folding umbrella stroller. Taking LK in and out of the stroller on the bus is awkward, especially when I am also trying not to drop her diaper bag and other things. Having her not in the stroller (which has locking wheels) on the bus is downright dangerous. I watched a woman with a child not much older than LK on the bus the other day. The bus jerked forward and he went sprawling down, knocked his face, cut his lip, and then to top it off, someone stepped on his poor hand. The child was in hysterics.

I felt awful for the poor little guy.
So maybe strollers get in the way, but given the alternative, I'd rather be a little bit in the way.
And I'm sorry, but I have no alternative to the bus most days, and I'm not going to become a housebound recluse just to avoid inconveniencing someone. Taxis are not possible alternatives to parents like they are to others due to stringent carseat laws. I can do my absolute best to be polite and not push or shove or run over people with my massive "baby travel system". But there are lots of things other people do to inconvenience and annoy me, too. Whenever I took the university bound bus, I was constantly getting hit in the face with overstuffed backpacks. I even got wholloped in my hugely pregnant belly once.
Everyone inconveniences someone sometimes. Parents and children have as much right to public spaces as others.