Parents will have to wrestle with one less hassle while traveling with kids, as Metro is changing its policy and allowing open strollers on Metrobuses.

There is already an “open stroller” policy in place on Metrorail.

WMATA says strollers can stay open if the priority seating area is unused — seniors and people with disabilities should get precedence over strollers. Stroller wheels must be locked and held on to at all times. Strollers shouldn’t block aisles or doorways and it is at the bus operators’ discretion to ask passengers to move or fold strollers if they are compromising the safety of others.

WMATA has been piloting the stroller policy since right before the pandemic but had been gathering feedback from customers, bus operators, and its Accessibility Advisory Council before making the change permanent. 

“Metro is committed to making transit accessible and convenient for everyone, and that includes those traveling with young children,” Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said. “This family-friendly initiative relieves a hardship many parents told us they face when riding Metrobus, and we hope it encourages more families to choose Metro.”

Olga Cano started a petition to allow strollers on Metro in 2018. She wrote that she would often opt to walk 13 minutes to a Metrorail station instead of a bus stop two minutes away because of the no-stroller policy. WAMU highlighted Cano and the stroller issue in 2019 as part of its series on the challenges of raising a family in the Washington region.

“It is very difficult to manage a folded-up stroller, an active toddler, and a back bag on a moving (and frequently crowded) bus,” she wrote in the petition.

Cano said she’s going to personally thank Clarke at an event at Eastern Market on Tuesday publicizing the new policy.

“When I initiated the petition, I was aware that if anything were to change, it would NOT benefit me due to the timeframes any type of policy change take,” she wrote in an email to WAMU. “However, I knew it would still be worthwhile because there will ALWAYS be caregivers hauling around kids in strollers.”

“The irony now is that my youngest child has a lifelong physical disability and is not able to walk, making the stroller the BEST and SAFEST way to transport her until she graduates into a wheelchair. So yes, the appreciation was doubled!”

Cano said Metro’s old policy “creates a culture of making kids feel like burdens.” She says changing the new policy is increasing accessibility for everyone: caregivers and kids alike.

“I once heard someone say, ‘If we design a world that is accessible to kids, things will be accessible to everyone,'” Cano wrote.