Transit policy forces young family to walk home in rain

A Thunder Bay mother says the citys transit system is making it hard for young families to take the bus.

Michelle Richmond-Saravia said a bus driver refused to let her on with her infant in a stroller and two other young sons. She saidthat sendsthe wrong message toyoung families.

When the doors closed and the bus drove away, it left Richmond-Saravia and her three children to make the long walk home in the rain. The family car is used by her husband to get to work.

Her son, Julio, remembered the rainy day the bus refused to pick them up. The family walked three kilometres to get home.

"My feet were cold," the five-year-old said. "We didn't get to come on the bus because [there were] too much wheelchairs."

People who usewheelchairs get top priority for the open space at the front of transit buses. Seniors and those using walkers are next.

And that can leave moms with strollers stranded when buses are full something Richmond-Saravia said is not right.

Thunder Bay Transit needs to re-think its priorities, she added.

"I think the bottom line is that, we're a family and I'm a mother and I have a newborn baby and two small children," Richmond-Saravia said. "So what kind of changes can Thunder Bay transit make so that everyone gets around equally?"

She said transit should consider putting more buses on routes where lots of young families live.