Any suggestions? (parents and Canadians, this means you!)

[vaznetti]

(Otherwise known as, "surely my friends list knows everything...")

OK, here's my problem. We're going back to Halifax next month, so that I can pack up my office, arrange for shipping to the UK, say goodbye, all that stuff. And obviously, we are taking Spartacus with us.

We don't have a car in the UK; we have a borrowed carseat, but Spartacus has just outgrown it, so we won't be taking it with us. I have a car in Halifax (which I'm planning to sell). My usual practice is to take a taxi from the airport to the city. Now, as far as I can tell, taxicabs are actually exempt from childseat laws in Canada (at least, they are in Ontario -- as so often, it's harder to find info on other provinces), but I am a little nervous on two counts -- first, that it's about a 20 minute trip, and second, that I have serious doubts that a taxi driver will take us without a carseat. Does anyone have advice or suggestions?

I've emailed a child stuff rental company about renting a carseat (and some other stuff) while we're there, but they don't seem to do airport dropoffs. I'm going to phone my usual cab company (if I can find their card!) and ask them for advice. I think I'll also email former colleagues with children back in Halifax to see what they suggest (and hope that someone would offer to come pick us up! but that seems unlikely). In the worst-case scenario, there's a shuttle bus to downtown hotels that I can take -- after all, we'll be taking a bus to the airport here, and that's a much longer trip. But generally, by the time I've arrived in the airport, I just want to get the rest of the way, and I suspect that Spartacus will feel the same.

(And yes, I know he'll be on the plane in our laps, but air travel is statistically much safer than car travel...)

Comments

[cassandre.livejournal.com]

Faced with a similar dilemma, I've dragged a carseat overseas with me. This might be worth doing if you think you'll use it more than once on the trip, even though I suspect you won't want to be burdened with extra luggage. The carseat doesn't count as part of your normal luggage allowance; they normally put it with 'fragile' luggage when you check in, and when you arrive you have to wait at a special baggage collection point to pick it up. You are welcome to borrow our carseat (which we hardly ever use) if you're reluctant to take the other borrowed one over.

Alternatively, I think calling the cab company is a good idea, because some cab companies have cabs with carseats, and you can book one. I've only ever done this going TO the airport, as opposed to going from one, but in principle I don't see why you couldn't ring from the airport and get a special cab with a carseat to collect you. You might try calling several different cab companies in Halifax and ask them whether they have cabs with carseats and whether they would do an airport pickup with one.

Finally, in my experience, lots of UK taxi drivers will turn a blind eye to transporting a small child for a short distance without a carseat. Canada may be more strict - I don't know. In the US I've always used one, as far as I can recall. A 20-minute ride would make me a little uneasy. I think I'd be tempted to opt for the shuttle bus instead, miserable as that sounds after an overseas flight with a baby.

The dream option would be to collar a friend with a car in Halifax and get them to borrow a carseat and pick you up at the airport!

[cassandre.livejournal.com]

Oops, I forgot that our seat is a front-facing, not a rear-facing one. I can't remember at what age you are supposed to make the switch and whether Spartacus would be old enough...

[cassandre.livejournal.com]

I just reread your post more carefully and realized you said Spartacus has outgrown the old carseat. In that case I think ours would be perfect for him! So bear that mind if you want to borrow it. We only use it once in a blue moon.

It's not fun travelling with a baby though - regular luggage plus carseat plus stroller. At least your stroller is nice and light for travel.

[vaznetti]

Thanks for the offer -- we decided to go ahead and buy a lighweight carseat to use for this trip and other ones -- since we'll be traveling again in December/January. It just seemed the easiest thing to do -- although it was a bit tricky to find one that was likely to work for us, given how many different cars we'll be in!

Yeah, I think we'll need lots of extra time in the airport. Ugh.