LettersWant a family-friendly Hong Kong? Start by allowing unfolded prams on buses

Hong Kong should review the blanket requirement that baby prams and strollers be folded before boarding franchised buses. The rule may look sensible from an operational point of view: buses are crowded, lower-deck space is limited, and wheelchair users must have priority. But for many parents, especially those travelling alone with newborns, the rule creates its own safety problem.

A parent may be required to remove a baby from the pram, fold the pram, hold the child, manage bags, pay the fare and remain steady on a moving bus. On Hong Kong’s steep roads and during sudden braking, this is not obviously safer than allowing a properly secured pram in a designated space.

This is not an argument for prams to take priority over wheelchair users. They should not. Wheelchair users must retain absolute priority over wheelchair bays, because those spaces are essential for safe and accessible travel.

Nor is it realistic to allow any size of pram onto any bus at any time. Hong Kong’s dense ridership and double-decker fleet make that impossible.

But a more balanced policy is possible. The Transport Department should study whether unfolded prams can be permitted on suitable wheelchair-accessible buses under strict conditions: one pram per bus, clear size limits, brakes applied, the child strapped in, proper restraint systems installed, aisles kept clear, and bus captains given binding protocols rather than vague discretion. If the wheelchair space is occupied or the bus is too crowded, the pram should still have to be folded or the passenger should wait.