Parents and caregivers face a host of barriers when navigating transit with children. Long waits for the bus at stops with no amenities are challenging for the average rider, and even worse for parents toting a toddler. Without youth discounts or family passes, the cost of riding transit with children can add up quickly. Policies that require strollers to be folded up on buses send the impression that caregivers with young kids aren’t welcome. The problem is particularly acute in New York, where only 23% of subway stations have elevators, forcing parents to carry children up and down long flights of stairs.

As a result, many parents end up buying cars, eating up larger portions of household budgets and contributing to poor health outcomes.

It doesn’t have to be this way – our new video with Christine Serdjenian Yearwood of UP-STAND shows how simple, affordable, and straightforward changes could make transit a safe and economical option for parents. Since TransitCenter research shows that people who ride transit from an early age are more likely to keep riding decades later, transit agencies should view accommodating families as an investment that ends up paying dividends.