TP student designs prototype to secure open strollers on public buses
Between last October and this January, Temasek Polytechnic (TP) student Jordan Ang spent his weekends riding public buses to observe passengers with strollers.
What the product and industrial design student saw was not always pretty - parents often struggling to handle strollers while carrying their children.
Responding to a brief by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) last September, Mr Ang designed a device to secure open strollers and prams on public buses for his final-year project.
He said: "We had to answer two questions: How we can make it easier for them, and whether the product can keep their child safe."
Yesterday, the Ministry of Transport announced that from April 2, open strollers will be allowed on public buses.
An LTA spokesman told The New Paper that institutes including Nanyang Polytechnic and TP are developing restraint systems to help secure open strollers on public buses.
"A prototype will be tested on one bus from the second quarter," the spokesman added.
Mr Ang's device works by allowing the side arm of an open stroller or pram to be slotted into a hook. When secured, the child will face backwards to prevent him or her from flying out of the stroller in the event of a sudden stop.
The set-up, which will share the wheelchair area on buses, will cost about $150 to make.
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