Transport for London (TfL) has launched a public vote to find the best buggies to use on public transport.
The five most popular buggies will be celebrated as ‘public transport friendly’ and will be highlighted on the TfL website and across social media.
As part of TfL’s commitment to make travelling around London easier for everyone, a panel made up of leading parenting groups and organisations including Netmums, Mumderground and 4Children pulled together a shortlist of the 10 buggies which they considered best for use on public transport.
The judges followed set criteria to find the most public transport friendly buggies. They had to be easy to fold, lightweight, manoeuvrable and affordable.
The vote follows on from TfL’s Buggy Summit in February, which brought together manufacturers, retailers, parenting groups and others ?to discuss the challenges faced by both buggy and wheelchair users.
At the event, manufacturers and parenting groups considered how they could work together to help overcome these challenges and shape future buggy designs.
A common theme was the availability of smaller, lighter, foldable buggies, which are better suited for use when travelling around London. It was thought that this type of buggy could help to reduce the competition for space that can sometimes occur around the priority area for wheelchair users on buses.
Mike Weston, TfL’s Director of Buses, said: “Following February’s Buggy Summit, we’re working with the buggy industry to make it easier for our mutual customers to make more informed decisions about the best type buggies for use on public transport.
“With an overwhelming choice of buggies available, we need to make it easier for people to identify small, lightweight, foldable and safe buggies which can fit comfortably through the aisle and share the priority space on buses and can be taken up and down steps in stations that aren’t yet step-free.”
