You can get on the twin stroller and the metropolitan bus without folding up.

Ayano Matsumoto unloads a two-seater stroller from a metropolitan bus in Suginami Ward.

There is a movement to change the route bus, which is indispensable as a means of daily transportation, so that children can ride in a two-seater stroller. Even one child is difficult, but for parents who have folded strollers with two children, it is truly a transportation revolution. To see if the streets of Tokyo have become kinder to families with twins, I accompanied them on their outings.

I was accompanied by Ayano Matsumoto (36) from Suginami Ward and her twin boys (2). Since September 2018, metropolitan buses have allowed two-seater strollers to ride on five routes on a trial basis without folding them up, and from June 7 this year, the system was expanded to all routes. On this day, we took a metropolitan bus and headed for Sanshi no Mori Park in Suginami Ward.

Mr. Matsumoto appeared at the meeting place. The two bags are filled with diapers, water bottles, toys, a change of clothes, and a baby carrier. The weight of the stroller is 10 kg and the luggage is 4 kg. Folding the stroller by yourself while carrying 25 kilograms of children together is unlikely.

It is 1.5 times wider than a single stroller

Get on the bus from Asagaya Station. "I'm worried about whether I can actually ride. I'm really nervous," says Matsumoto nervously. When our eyes met, the driver folded the two seats without saying a word and made space for us. It is common to get on from the front door, but the two-seater, which is about 1.5 times wider than the one-seater, uses the wide rear door. I stopped the stroller in the opposite direction to the direction of travel and fixed it with two blue belts hanging from the handrail as the driver explained.

In the car, the children are in a good mood saying, "It moved" and "It's fast." When I was about to raise my voice, Mr. Matsumoto quickly took out sweets and toys to distract me. I was relieved to see an elderly woman sitting next to me, smiling as if to say, "I'm rooting for you."

Arrived at the desired stop. When I got off from the rear door facing backwards, I said, "Good job." Matsumoto's expression softened at last. There were no major incidents, and after walking a few minutes to the park, she smiled again, saying, "I had given up on taking the bus until now, so I was impressed. It's easier to get around, and it doesn't limit the range of experiences for the children." showed.

Arrived at the park. I have a lot of luggage

One-seater strollers have been able to ride without being folded up, but in March last year, a council of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism summarized the basic idea of ​​​​operation that allows two-seaters to ride buses without folding. . Yokohama Municipal Bus has been introduced on all lines since November last year. On the other hand, when I interviewed private bus companies, there were some that would let me ride without folding, but some companies asked me to fold the bus because it was too wide for two people to turn around and other passengers couldn't move around. There was also

Florence (Chiyoda Ward), a certified NPO that has continued to make requests to the national and metropolitan governments, plans to expand to industry groups as well. Kazuyo Ichikura, 36, of Florence, said, "I want to convey the voices of the people concerned so that these movements will continue." On the other hand, "If the people around us look at us negatively, it will be difficult for them to go out. For example, even if it takes a long time to get on board, each one of us must change so that we can become a society where we can warmly look out for each other." ba,” he says.

[Original article: Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web June 16, 2021]