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[traductio]

I'm hoping to travel to Toronto later this month for research, and my wife and I have talked about turning the trip into as much of a vacation as we're likely to get this summer. We'd be traveling with our one-year-old daughter, however, which is a new adventure for us. We've got most everything figured out, but we're at a loss to figure out how to get from the airport to our hotel.

So, are there any big-city folks out there who can help us out? (We live in a rural "city" of about 50,000 people, so taxis aren't something we take on a regular basis.) We used to live in Toronto, and we've taken the TTC from the airport to downtown (via a long bus ride to the end of the Bloor subway line, then a long ride into the city). We're looking for a better option than that, but we don't know how taxis and car-seats work, or even if we'd have that option.

Any suggestions are welcome!

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

Most taxi companies have a few cars with car seats in them that you can use for the kiddo, for an additional fee. If it were me, I'd find the number of a couple of taxi companies in Toronto, call, and ask them what they recommend. I suspect you'll be able to call for a cab with a car seat after you land without much hassle. Don't expect the cabby to have installed it very well, though. Tighten that sucker yourself.

[madhatter]

Take your own car seat. If you've bought an airline ticket for the kid, you'll need the seat for the flight. If you're going the always-fun, not-very-safe lap child route, bring the car seat and check it at the gate. Then you spend a few minutes wrestling it into and out of the backseats of cabs every time you go somewhere.

[anisogamy]

I tried calling assorted executive car services prior to a trip to a medium-major US city with a 6 month old, only to find that none of them had car seats available.  We ended up reserving a spot with a one-man operation so we'd have a car waiting when we arrived, with the assurance that the seat belts were functional and that the driver could indeed be patient while we struggled to install Tuesday in a car other an our own for the first time ever (as we didn't want to hold up the taxi line).  It ended up being the best taxi/car service experience I have ever had and I only wish I could have given the guy more business.  He was courteous and professional, gave detailed sightseeing and dining suggestions upon request, provided bottled water, had a clean and spacious car, and only charged $10 than the standard yellow cabs for the same trip.

So if you're at all nervous about traveling with your child, arranging for a safe and clean trip to your lodging, or wrangling assorted baby accouterments into a cab, I'd suggest being fancy and booking a car in advance with a driver to meet you in baggage claim.  It was far more affordable than I had expected and didn't make me feel nearly as awkward as I thought it might.

[punchnpie]

What about the airport shuttle? I can't imagine they don't have one (or several) in Toronto. I always just show up at the desk, but if you need a car seat, you may want to call ahead and ask for one or whether they can put your in.

I took punch jr in cabs all the time, no car seat, but that was 30 yrs ago. I'm sure there are plenty of mothers in big cities today who have to shlep their kids around in a cab with nary a car seat in sight. It can't be that big of a deal.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

Take your own car seat. If you've bought an airline ticket for the kid, you'll need the seat for the flight. If you're going the always-fun, not-very-safe lap child route, bring the car seat and check it at the gate. Then you spend a few minutes wrestling it into and out of the backseats of cabs every time you go somewhere.

Schlepping a car seat through an airport is a special kind of hell. I don't recommend it.

[palla]

Schlepping a car seat through an airport is a special kind of hell. I don't recommend it.

When we did it, we wore it like a backpack.  I don't remember purchasing anything additional, but somehow we were able to strap it on our backs and carry it that way.  It worked pretty well.

[madhatter]

Take your own car seat. If you've bought an airline ticket for the kid, you'll need the seat for the flight. If you're going the always-fun, not-very-safe lap child route, bring the car seat and check it at the gate. Then you spend a few minutes wrestling it into and out of the backseats of cabs every time you go somewhere.

Schlepping a car seat through an airport is a special kind of hell. I don't recommend it.

I know, but travel with an infant or toddler requires that you haul these life-support systems around with you. I've carried the car seat by hand, used the stroller to carry it, and even tried a big nylon bag that had a handle and wheels on the bottom to roll the car seat around like a suitcase. (It worked but at a price -- the bag was pretty much destroyed after one trip.)

[anisogamy]

What about the airport shuttle? I can't imagine they don't have one (or several) in Toronto. I always just show up at the desk, but if you need a car seat, you may want to call ahead and ask for one or whether they can put your in.

I took punch jr in cabs all the time, no car seat, but that was 30 yrs ago. I'm sure there are plenty of mothers in big cities today who have to shlep their kids around in a cab with nary a car seat in sight. It can't be that big of a deal.

I live in a city where cabs are a major form of transit and some other mothers will bring their young children in a cab without a carseat, but I'm not comfortable doing so with anitoddler.  A friend works at one of the major hospitals in the area and told me about one of the kids with severe long-term injuries that they have in pediatric extended care after a cab accident with no carseat.  She was familiar with similar cases at other area hospitals as well.

[traductio]

Your advice has been very helpful -- thank you. My wife and I are of different minds about what we're willing or not willing to do, but we found a decent compromise -- we're going to buy a used car seat to check with our luggage and then take in and out of taxis ourselves. We have a really nice one for our car at home (we'd never buy a used one for daily use), but that sucker was pricey, and we don't want it torn up on the plane.

Years ago, when the two of us lived in Toronto (before our daughter was born), we were carefree grad students enjoying a really strong US dollar. On paper we were broke, but with a US dollar buying about one and a half Canadian dollars, we lived like royalty. Or almost. Or as close as we were ever going to come -- those were good, good days. I wouldn't go back to them, of course (my daughter is the most wonderful creature I have ever encountered!), but I do miss that footloose feeling.

[palla]

You may also try checking with the car rental agencies at the airports.  Many rent car seats.  I don't know if they rent to people not renting cars from them, but it might be worth a phone call.  Of course, if the child has a seat on the plane, you will need a car seat for the plane, but if you plan to let kidlet ride in your lap, you can try to rent a car seat and avoid lugging it through the airport. 

[thenewyorker]

http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?SKU=14973508&RN=7375&

Pricey, but they work. When we need to travel with the car seat, we put a suitcase on top of it/in it, wear the baby and roll our way through the airport. I bought ours used.

If you are wearing a baby (not a sling, but a Beco or Bjorn) and the baby is facing towards you, it is legal to wear the baby in the cab and use the seat belt across your lap. It works fine. It might be easier than carting a car seat around.

[mystictechgal]

FWIW, for those of you who go the lap-seat child on the plane, I was on a flight that had to make an emergency landing when it seemed that the landing gear hadn't locked completely into place. The young couple across the aisle from me had an infant and had chosen lap-seat. I got to overhear the instructions the flight attendant gave them to best safeguard their child during the landing, and I got to witness their expressions as they agreed to them. The instructions included having the husband (stronger than his wife) stiff-arming the seat back in front of him while holding the baby close, while the rest of us were instructed to assume the full, bent-at-the-waist-grab-your-knees position. The flight attendant was quite clear that he should expect to have his bracing arm broken if the landing was hard, and he had to assure her that he understood that, was mentally prepared for it, and would not let go of the baby when it snapped. He, and his wife, both turned absolutely white, but he agreed.

I've never seen anyone look sicker, and I felt so badly for them. He did his part. Thankfully, the instrumentation had apparently lied (either that, or our pilot was phenomenally skilled). We landed amongst a host of fire engines and ambulances standing at the ready (seen from the window just before putting my head into the pillow on my lap and grabbing my knees, and, again, as we disembarked). It was a hard landing, but the gear held. His arm did not break. But, I'd be willing to bet that they never again travelled lap-style with their child.

As a matter of fact, I heard them vowing that, and, last I saw them they were off to rebook their flight and buy a seat for their child, not just for the connection that had just been interrupted, but for their continuation legs. They were quite vocal about asking how soon they could get their checked child seat back and have it vetted for airline seating.

[traductio]

FWIW, for those of you who go the lap-seat child on the plane, I was on a flight that had to make an emergency landing when it seemed that the landing gear hadn't locked completely into place. The young couple across the aisle from me had an infant and had chosen lap-seat. I got to overhear the instructions the flight attendant gave them to best safeguard their child during the landing, and I got to witness their expressions as they agreed to them. The instructions included having the husband (stronger than his wife) stiff-arming the seat back in front of him while holding the baby close, while the rest of us were instructed to assume the full, bent-at-the-waist-grab-your-knees position. The flight attendant was quite clear that he should expect to have his bracing arm broken if the landing was hard, and he had to assure her that he understood that, was mentally prepared for it, and would not let go of the baby when it snapped. He, and his wife, both turned absolutely white, but he agreed.

I've never seen anyone look sicker, and I felt so badly for them. He did his part. Thankfully, the instrumentation had apparently lied (either that, or our pilot was phenomenally skilled). We landed amongst a host of fire engines and ambulances standing at the ready (seen from the window just before putting my head into the pillow on my lap and grabbing my knees, and, again, as we disembarked). It was a hard landing, but the gear held. His arm did not break. But, I'd be willing to bet that they never again travelled lap-style with their child.

As a matter of fact, I heard them vowing that, and, last I saw them they were off to rebook their flight and buy a seat for their child, not just for the connection that had just been interrupted, but for their continuation legs. They were quite vocal about asking how soon they could get their checked child seat back and have it vetted for airline seating.

Part of me is glad I read this, and part of me is not.

[niceday]

Well, that's awful and car seats are somewhat safer but do keep it in context. About 300-400 million people fly each year. In all of last 23 years, FAA knows of only three cases of infants dying due to this issue in what they judge to be otherwise survivable conditions. (I believe one of them was a case in which the mother was trying to restrain two kids by herself). If you assume that people used to fly less and run the numbers, you get about three incidents for about six billion flights, so about one incident for two billion flights. 

Someone searched the database for all injuries, not just deaths, and I think there were only about 8 cases of preventable injury *total* since 1970.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/continental-onepass-pre-merger/1120286-co-777-200er-phx-lhr-w-new-lie-flat-seats-infant-3.html

I am not kidding, those are lower odds than being killed by a falling meteorite.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/10/13/death-by-meteorite/

If only one percent of people chose to drive instead of fly with a kid on their lap and pay for the seat, you will get infant deaths that will many, many, many times exceed those three.

I do agree though the current airline set-up is not safe for children in those actually very very rare cases of crash landings. Heck, the restraints as they exist aren't safe for adults in crashes because there is no shoulder belt. The problem is your body gets thrown forward in a crash--hence the head down position.  (Thankfully, crash landing scares are a lot more common than actual crash landings).

Why isn't the FAA doing something about it? Frankly, because actual crashes or crash landings are so extremely rare that they probably calculate that it's not worth it. I'm not saying it's not worth it in an individual sense since no life is measurable in money but if you are spending money on public safety, one does have to make choices.

Turbulence is a slightly more significant issue and that's why I think one should use some form of well-designed child harness during flight. FAA is of two-minds about these as they are not good for crashes but frankly, turbulence is so much more common that I don't get that logic. I think they are afraid of saying anything is safe since nothing is completely safe.

Rear-facing car seats which can accommodate larger kids so kids face the rear in a five-point harness for longer are probably the best flight safety investment as almost everyone drives to the airport.

Most car seats don't fit airline seats too well either so I am not really convinced that any of these are really safe -- I've seen too many car-seats get loose in airline seats.

A well-designed child-harness system and an emergency upper-body restraint with appropriate attachment to the lap child would probably be all that needs to actually happen to pretty much resolve this concern. (Just the way flight attendants are supposed to give you an infant life-vest in case of a water landing, they can give you a crash-landing restraint). I had heard that FAA was considering its options in this issue.

Not saying people should not take the car seat to the plane. By all means. To each their own. Just wanted to share the actual numbers.