Using your intelligence in a bus queue situation

I am so glad I never,ever use buses.

Mm, she used her initiative and had to go to the trouble of walking back to the previous stop which can be quite a distance, can't it? I think I'd call it 'canny' rather than the other words mentioned.

I'm surprised that the other mothers actually took enough notice of a random fellow passenger to remember her being at the other stop previously - I assume that's why they were so angry.

What a horrible example of modern manners.

I think she acted strategically. I've done similarishly- not with a pram but just in terms of space on the bus - and walked back a couple of stops to one where I knew I'd get on and, probably, get a seat.

When mine was small 1970s’ after the Saturday shop with all the bags and toddler in pushchair it was expected mothers put bags on the bus platform, take child out of pushchair, fold pushchair while holding child and climb on, hoping the bus conductor was kind and would help. The bags were put with the pushchair under the stairs and I would struggle along to find a seat with child while the bus jolted off. Admittedly these days there are no conductors but push chairs can be folded allowing more space.

She seems pretty sensible to me! Showed initiative. In fact, that could be the sort of dilemma that an employer could use as a question in a job interview!

Bus stops are approximately 400 meters apart although they may be closer in city centers. The OP had the trouble of walking back this distance with her buggy and shopping so I would agree she was canny. There is no rule to say which bus stop you have to use when you travel.

Ive used this technique on the London underground and on buses - travelled backwards in one direction to get on a more empty bus or train in order to secure a seat.

About 50% pf respondants to the mumsnet thread called it rude, mean and queue jumping. No, queue jumping would be if she had remained at the stop and pushed on ahead of the other two buggy women.

i go to a large shopping centre once a month and the bus i get is at a local bus station, people getting off to catch the train or subway and lots of people getting on with shopping and prams, it is a scrum at times, i walk to the stop before the station and get on, coming back i go out of the shopping centre at the back to go to a bus stop that never has anyone waiting, some drivers have tutted and one even asked why don't i go to the other stop like everyone else. i would say the op is using her initiative and does not deserve to be called names.

I used to do this when I lived overseas. The metro journey home was 40 minutes and would be standing room only from the stop where I worked. So I would journey back 3 stops and get on at the terminus. It meant I'd get a seat on the train and my poor aching feet had a rest, at the end of a long day. I wasn't the only one doing it either!

How on earth could this be construed as queue jumping? Surely a person can catch the bus at whichever bus-stop they wish to use? Using your initiative (and actually walking a few 100 yards ) makes absolutely sense to me.

She just used common sense, something which seems sadly lacking in a great many people nowadays.

I agree that she just used her common sense.

grannydarkhair

She just used common sense, something which seems sadly lacking in a great many people nowadays.

This.

The mumsnet posters argued that it was sly and mean because she knew there were two buggy mums who had been waiting longer than her and one might not get on. If you travel a few steps back to get on the bus/train then you are likewise seeking an advantage but they are just random people getting on after you and you do not know them or how long they were waiting.

I dont follow this argument. You cannot take responsibility for everyone in a bus or other queue or know how long they may have been there. You can only take responsibility for getting yourself home as quickly and comfortably as possible.

I wonder how the poster on mumsnet would have felt if someone did the same thing to her.

How shocking that these women would respond like that; they must be rough as old rope to make such a fuss and use such language. She did nothing wrong, just used her initiative. They are obviously jealous that she had the brains to outwit them!

I can't see how anyone can object to which stop anyone else uses. It's none of their business and they are not breaking any rules.

I do seem to remember folding the pushchair on the bus in the 1980s but we mostly used a car so it didn't happen often. Nowadays the pushchairs are covered in bags, coats etc. and the design is much more complex, so they can't easily be folded. I only took a very simple folding pushchair on the bus and it was easy to collapse.

Smileless2012

I wonder how the poster on mumsnet would have felt if someone did the same thing to her.

She would probably just have kicked herself for not doing the same thing sooner.

I think she jumped the queue, yes.

Smart but she knew that the result would be one of the other two muns being forced to miss the bus and did it anyway.

I also think the reaction by the other mums resulting in the police being called is not OK at all. There were babies present.

Everyone is unreasonable here

If they had thought of it, the mums with buggies could have done the same thing and been sure of getting on the bus. Part of their anger was at themselves for not thinking of it too. Next time maybe they will.

I used to do this when I used buses at rush hour. I'm sure lots of people do. Not unreasonable behaviour at all.
Those mums reaction was disgusting.

If I could be bothered to observe people getting on a stop earlier, I would have smiled wryly at her sensible thinking.

People calling another woman that word need to maybe take a closer look at their behaviour.

Lucky you Nana8 having other forms of transport available to you.

I agree the Mum concerned just used her common sense.

To those saying that the mum knew that 1 of the women wouldn’t be able to get on the bus because she used her initiative, haven’t considered that she may not have been able to get on the bus as there may have already been 2 prams on it, so she ran the risk of the extra walk without the reward. What would the two waiting mums done if the bus arrived with a different person +pram already on the bus, expect them to get off?

How did she KNOW that the driver wouldn’t let them all on?

Smileless2012

I wonder how the poster on mumsnet would have felt if someone did the same thing to her.

She won't know until someone shows the initiative she did and does the same to her.
She might set a precedent though and they all start walking to the earlier stop.
I'm also disgusted at the language that was used in front of a bus full of people including children. Where have standards gone?