Mum sparks outrage for jumping bus queue by walking to previous stop

A mum has sparked a debate online after admitting she found a clever way to jump the bus queue, with some arguing that she had a very good reason.

Etiquette on public transport is often a tough world to navigate - with people playing music from their phones or refusing to move their back so you can sit down, it sometimes feels like an actual battlefield.

Do you stand up for yourself and say something, or do you quietly grumble into your newspaper?

Arguably the biggest bone of contention is queue jumping, which can make people see red within a matter of seconds. After all, we all know how well it went for Holly and Phil...

This is something one mum learnt the hard way when she found a nifty way of beating the queue at her bus stop, having simply walked to the previous stop on the route in order to get a spot.

format4/Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking about her tactic on Mumsnet’s ‘Am I Being Unreasonable?’ forum, the woman explained how she was met with anger when the bus arrived at the original stop, claiming an altercation kicked off.

“After picking my child up from her child minder today, I arrived the bus stop to find two women with buggies waiting,” she wrote.

“Knowing that the driver wouldn’t let three of us on, I walked round the corner to the previous stop and got on there.”

The mum continued: “When it arrived at the next stop, sure enough only mum was allowed on - the other was told to wait 30 minutes for the next bus. I was screamed at and called a c**t and a queue jumper by one mum who tried to shove me off the bus.

“I don’t think I did anything wrong, nor did the police when they turned up after being called by the driver.

“What the f**k is wrong with people?”

However, many people sided with the other mum, saying the woman’s actions had been unfair.

Maria Galan/Alamy Stock Photo

One said: "You acted knowing that you would be taking the place of someone who had been waiting longer than you. Technically you didn't break any rules, but you were selfish and sneaky in your actions. If your pushchair was foldable then you could have folded it, put it in the bag bit and held your child.”

Someone else chipped in: “It was clever of you, but ethically dubious considering they were both there before you.”

Not mincing their words, a third wrote: “That's harsh as f**k OP. I mean yeah you got on but the other mum didn't. I'm pretty sure she wasn't waiting for the bus for a laugh either.”

But while some felt what she did was ‘sneaky’, many said she wasn’t being unreasonable.

“In my opinion you just did the clever thing, tough luck to the other one!” one commented.

Another agreed: “Ooh that's sneaky. But YANBU.”

One also said: “You were smarter than them. I'd have done the same.”

A fourth added: “I often walk a few mins to an earlier stop if the closest one is crowded. Nothing wrong with that and it's an option open to most people easily enough.”

Many other parents suggested she may have been better off trying to collapse her buggy, if she was able to, in order to free up more space.

“I don't think you were unreasonable,” one user said, before going on: “Depending on the age of my child though, if I was in your shoes, I'd have probably used the time on the bus to fold down the pushchair to make room for her to get on too.”