Cat In Pram Gets Preference Over Baby On Bus

Keep Reading ↓

A mother was forced to fold up her pram and make her one-year-old toddler stand on a bus, because the driver told her that there was a cat in a pram taking up the last pushchair space on the bus.

Mia Jade Wilson was aboard the first bus to Leeds a week ago when she noticed a commuter arguing with the bus driver, while holding her one-year-old toddler. The 23-year-old woman said she felt obliged to help out the mother when she heard the bus driver say that she could either fold her pram or dismount the bus and wait for the next one.

Mia tried to reason with the bus driver and explain that the occupant of the pram on board was actually just a cat, but the driver would not budge and insisted that the pram capacity of 2 was already occupied on the bus.

Mia found it ridiculous that a cat in a pram should take precedence over a child in a pram, she said that she stood by the doors and asked the driver if he knew that the other pram had a cat in it and not a child. The bus driver just restated that the woman had to either fold up her pram or wait for the next bus to board. Mia stated that she even turned to the woman who owned the pram with the cat in it and asked her if she could move to the other side.

Mia, who was with her son Elias, luckily had one spot available and offered it to the woman who thanked her for helping her out and had to put her pram down because her child was crying. She said that she was on the phone with her aunt at the time and her aunt suggested that she take a photo so that she can upload it onto social media, which she did.

Mia explained how the people on the bus were upset and rolling their eyes in disappointment that a cat was the reason a mother had to put her pram down in order to get herself and her child onto a bus.

“It’s just disgraceful and I’m just completely shocked. It seems to be one rule for one person and one rule for another. No matter which way you look at it, I just think it’s wrong that a cat has priority on the bus over the child.” – Mia Jade Wilson.

She explained how there were other ways of transporting pets, such as carriers, and that if the woman with the cat in the pram had done that, she could have just placed the carrier on her lap or under the seat so that people who actually needed the space could have had access to it.

A spokesperson from First Leeds put out a statement in which he apologized to hear that some customers did not agree with the way the bus driver handled the situation and that they are going to launch an investigation to investigate the complaint.

“With the exception of assistance dogs, animals can only travel on board our services if they are secure.” – First Leeds.