Riding with kids
Riding with kids: the basics
Keep your kids close to make sure you don’t get separated.
Make sure your child’s shoelaces are done up correctly before boarding the bus or train. Watch out for anything else that could get stuck in the doors, such as a long scarf.
Hold your child’s hand as you board and exit the vehicle.
Make sure your kids remain seated while the vehicle is moving.
Kids and teens riding on their own
Ride along with your kids at least a few times to get them familiar with the route, landmarks, rules of transit, and safety measures.
Make sure funds are loaded on their Presto card and they have change or access to a cell phone to call home if they need to do so.
Go over safety info with them:
- Only cross at designated crossings and only if it is safe to do so
- Have their fare ready
- Not to run after the bus or train and not to touch the vehicle
- Tell the driver if they are lost or ill
- Tell the bus driver or Special Constable if a stranger gets too close, makes them feel uncomfortable or asks personal questions
- Keep their hands and head inside the bus at all times
- Give up their seat to those with priority (for example, persons with disabilities, seniors, pregnant women)
Travelling with a child in a stroller
At Transitway stations, use the elevator to get from one floor to another.
Once aboard the bus or O-Train, you have two options:
- Fold and stow the stroller
- You can then sit in the Cooperative Seating area and hold your child on your lap.
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Put the stroller in a space designated for wheelchairs
- If there is an available spot designated for wheelchairs, you can use it to park your stroller. (Don’t forget to put on the brake!)
- If you have an open stroller in a wheelchair area and someone with a wheelchair requires that space, you will need to move.
- If no wheelchair spot is available, you can place the stroller in the aisle as long as it doesn’t get in the way of other riders or block the safe movement of passengers. If this is the case, the driver may ask you to fold the stroller.
If the bus is at a full load capacity and/or the stroller would create a hazard by interfering with other customers or the safe movement of customers, you may be declined access on the bus.
OC Travel Tip
Board the bus with the stroller facing forward and leave the bus with it facing backwards.