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On Sunday afternoon I am coming from church. I boarded one the First double decker buses from Salford University to Manchester Piccadilly. I chose to sit on one of the front seats though on normal week days I would barely sit on them because they are specially preserved for elderly, disabled and the mummies.
I had been on the bus for five minutes when I heard a thunderstorm crush and someone screaming on top of their voices. “Oh my God.” It was very disturbing and I turned aside to find the source of the commotion, I saw a couple just sitting opposite to my left side screaming but the woman was already advancing to the staircase. “Sorry, sorry,” she said. I heard another screaming sound but this time it was a voice of a child. I looked again and saw the child. She was literally few feet away from me. She had fallen from the stairs as she made her way down to the main passage. Her mother was just literally behind her, but she was holding a baby and she couldn’t help her other child from falling.
The woman who had advanced towards the child picked her up and muttered the word sorry to the child several times before she gave her to her mother. The mother’s child took her hand and moved slowly towards to the door. The driver asked her question and she mumbled. Her little girl seemed to be in a lot of pain as she touched her knees several times. I am worried if the mother does not assess the child knees. The child could have an internal injury, but the mother seemed to take notice. After a minute the bus came to a stop. The child and the mother got off from the bus as they head to their home.
When I saw this happened I did know whom to blame? Several times I have used public transport and 95% of my all journeys I have heard some children screaming, and persuading their parents to let them go up and sit upstairs. If a parent refuses they pull up their hands as a way to enforce their wishes but some would have been asked in advance before they have boarded the bus. The children’s age ranges from 2-7. I presumed this what had also transpired between the mother and her little daughter. The situation was worsened with the mother who had already made a decision that she should get down with her children while the bus was on move. If they had waited patiently probably it could have been another different story. Or is it time for safety and security measures to be enforced for the sake of the children who enjoyed sitting on the top deck?
