Accessible transport — prams, wheelchairs and children

Low-floor vehicles have no step at the door — the floor is level with the kerb or lowers towards it. You can spot them from a distance by their wider doors and by the way the vehicle leans slightly towards the stop when it halts.

These vehicles have a marked area in the middle, by the centre doors, with folding seats and grab rails. That is the space intended for wheels — both prams and wheelchairs.

With a pram, board through the centre doors, front wheels first, then turn the pram so the child faces away from the direction of travel. That is the most stable position under braking, and the pram brake goes on immediately after boarding.

With a wheelchair it helps to signal the driver before the vehicle stops — simply position yourself visibly at the kerb. On vehicles fitted with a ramp, the ramp is deployed manually and it is the driver who lowers it.

• Board through the centre doors, never the front
• Pram facing away from the direction of travel
• Brake on immediately, not later
• Signal your stop one stop in advance

It happens, more often on longer routes. In a wheelchair, boarding such a vehicle safely is not realistic — waiting for the next one beats risking it.

So it is worth checking the line’s interval before you set out: if it runs every seven minutes, skipping one vehicle changes nothing. If it runs every forty, consider another line or a route with a transfer.

Public transport has been free for all passengers since 1 January 2025, so there is no ticket to buy or validate — one less thing to handle while boarding with a pram and a child.

Rush hour, not the vehicle, is the real practical problem. Between 7–9 in the morning and 16–18 in the afternoon the space by the centre doors is taken by standing passengers. If you have the choice, shift your trip by half an hour.