Everybody Run, Five-Oh Spotted Us!

Legalese:

"Hi, this is [Name Omitted] from RTD's Legal Department. I am writing to ask that you please remove the RTD logo from your blog. RTD has not give you permission to use the logo, which is a registered trademark of RTD. In addition, please make clear that your blog is not sponsored or endorsed by RTD. If you have any questions, please contact me at [Contact Info Omitted]. Thank you for your cooperation."

Is it clear enough y'all?
Good, 'nuff said.

SNOWBALL!

Only half of you will get the title of this post.

It's getting close to the beginning of August.
On August 22nd, 2010 we start the Fall schedule so make sure you head down to the Civic Center or Market Street Stations and grab new schedules after the 22nd.

Some of our routes are going to the Private Sector companies like First Transit.
From what I hear that means that service on those routes will become junk.
That's just what I've heard customers say.
Most passengers don't know how to tell the difference between RTD and contract/private sector Drivers.
If you see a letter (like X, F, L) next to the number of the bus, that's the Private Sector.
RTD buses only have numbers and our license plates all have GVT (government) on them.

Anyway, the new schedules are coming out soon.
A quick tip:
For example, the 21 bus heading East to CentrePoint may hit Blackhawk at 8:57am.
The next time point may be CentrePoint at 9:06.
If you're waiting at Jewel, don't try to calculate the time it would take the bus to arrive from Blackhawk.
Don't think to yourself, "At 35 miles an hour, plus traffic and trying to cross traffic at Sable & Illif...."
Then come walking out when you think the bus will arrive.
You'll most likely end up running out at the last second and watching the bus go by.
Assume that EVERY stop after Blackhawk but before CentrePoint is 8:57.
If you're going North on 31 and the schedule reads:
Colfax/Federal Transit: 3:00
20th 3:07
32nd 3:12
50th 3:20
Assume that every stop between the Transit Center & 20th is 3:00 and that every stop between 20th and 32nd is going to be 3:07, and so on.
Make sense?

Now you'll never assume the Driver is "early" if he's arrived after that last time point but before the next.
And now you'll never be late.

And another quick tip:
Have your ID ready.
Many of you get the student or disabled or senior discounts.
The new Drivers on your routes are going to need to see proof at least once before remembering you for the next three months.
So don't get all offended and butt sore when the new Driver asks you for your "proof" of discount.
If you don't have it, he'll probably let you ride once or twice but he's reporting it and eventually a Fare Inspector will starting riding along with him if you don't show your proof of eligibility for discounted fare.
You've been given the heads-up.

I can hear the DJ now, on his mic, hollerin out at the Drivers, "SNOWBALL!"

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Man Down Man Down!

You know, like most of the Servicemen in the Armed Forced I was taught that we don't leave anybody behind.
I've carried that into this job.
I do not leave passengers behind.

I twist and turn in my seat, looking left, right, back and forth.
Trying to look for runners, for sneakers, etc.

Today I was leaving the Broadway Station and as I'm creeping out (looking for the last second runners who as they are exiting the light rail, they are realizing they need my bus) I heard the Driver of the Light Rail holler at one of the exiting passengers.

I pulled forward and opened my door so I could hear what was going on.
I was thinking the worst - it must be bad if a Driver lost his top and started hollering at passengers, right?

As I pull up next to them, prepared for the worst and ready to call for help...
The Driver is shaking hands with the passenger, fist bumping actually.
They knew each other, etc.
So I closed my doors and drove away.

As I rounded to driverway to Broadway, I realized that the passenger had heard my door shut and was turning towards the bus.
But this didn't register until I was almost out of the Station.
He must have at first thought I was a nice Driver to pull up to him like that and wait.
Then I was a jerk for leaving him in my dust.

DUDE!
I felt bad.
I was "THAT DRIVER" who drove away at the last second and left a passenger behind.
Having to wait for 15 minutes until the next bus.
I think those Drivers are buttheads.

And now I'm one of them.

To the poor guy I left behind at Broadway Station...
I'm sorry sorry sorry.
Not that you care to hear excuses or that they justify what I did but...
I was pulling forward expecting a confrontation and when I found it was otherwise, I left.
It didn't even dawn on me that you'd be looking for my bus.
Seriously...Sorry...

I felt like a turd. (self censoring!)

Patience Is A Virtue?

I've said again and again that I run as close to being on time as I can.
I'm pretty sure every Driver does, right?
Although we all have our different styles of keeping time.
Me, I will crawl from one stop to the next.
For example, if the schedule reads that I'll be at Alameda & Kipling at 6:54am then the next time is Civic Center Station at 7:09 - I can't leave from Kipling & Alameda before 6:54.
But I can arrive at CCS BEFORE 7:09, I just can't leave before 7:09.
So I'll crawl between the two stops to make certain that I hit both timed stops on the nose and use the "extra" time in between to allow passengers to get to their stops so nobody gets missed.
Some Drivers fly to each stop then sit and burn that extra time, then fly to the next stop.
I can understand that style but to me, there are a bazillion passengers who just missed the bus as it flew past them on its way to the next timed stop in the schedule.

I wonder if that all just made sense to anybody?

The point of all this is that I have to take the bus (and light rail) too, several times a week.
So when Drivers don't make their stops on time, I feel the same frustrations as every other Passenger.

RTD leaves me all alone out at the far reaches of the city and let's me fend for myself to get back to the garage so I can get my vehicle and go home after work.
So I usually have to take two trains and a bus back to the garage.
The light rail folks tend to take their time and rarely hit their times right.
So I'm almost always missing the last bus back to the garage.
That means I'm waiting around in the hot sun, or the pouring rain for up to 30 minutes every afternoon.
Making a simple trip home take up to two hours a day.

All because one Driver was just a couple of minutes late to a transfer point for me.

So because I have to deal with this daily, I do my best to make sure none of my passengers have to deal with it. Not that I wouldn't do my best to be on time either way but personal experience makes it even more important to me.

I know that patience is a virtue and that I hear the senior Drivers preaching that passengers should take earlier buses if time is so important to them.
But to me, time is as important as it is to YOU, the Passenger.

The only patience I ask is not the wait at the stops for me, but the wait in between the stops as I crawl from one to the next, making sure EVERYBODY catches the bus and makes it to their transfers on time.

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Rain Rain Come & Stay - Then Come Again Another Day...

Today was a really "thin" day.
It's the Middle of the week, Hump Day if you will.
For no reason other than it was cloudy, cool and rainy at times, there weren't many people on the bus today.
No Holidays, no festivals, no Twilight Zone Marathons on TV.

Half if not more than half of the regulars who normally ride today were no shows.
Traffic was at a low, like Sunday traffic.
Downtown was pretty smooth in spite of all the construction going on.
Please please please don't get me started on the construction Downtown.
I mean, seriously?
The roads need it but really? Really?
LOL

Anyway, after a week of 100° plus, it's nice to have a couple of days in a row under 90° with rain and clouds.

So stay home, pop in a movie, relax and enjoy the break in the weather.
I'll see y'all when you come back.

And when you do come back, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

How YOU Doin'?

I was taking to a Passenger this morning and she asked me something that took me back.
"Do you think it's right if Drivers flirt with Passengers?"

My immediate response was, "No!"
She explained how another Driver had flirted with her and I'd heard other Drivers tell their tales.

So let me explain why I don't think it's right.

The bus is a "safe place."
If there is an emergency and/or somebody needs help
You call 911, you look for a cop, a fireman, an ambulance or a bus.
If your kiddos are being chased, attacked, etc - get on the bus.
We'll close those doors, move the bus from the danger and call for help.
Same with your spouses and you.
We can provide shelter/safety then call for help.

It's dark and late at night.
You just left a bar and there are some shadey people following you.
This bright beacon of safety and light pulls up, opens the doors and you climb in.
The doors are shut, the outside can't get in.
You sit with a huge sigh and relax and the bus rolls away from the troubles.
Only to have the Driver who provided this shelter turn out to be as big a perv as the jerks you supposedly left behind!

Nobody needs that stress.

Drivers cannot get involved in emergencies but we can get help in case of emergencies.
We are not emergency responders but we can contact them.
In fact, we have a hotline to them.

Teach your kiddos, teach your spouses, and teach yourself that the bus is a safe place.
The Driver is responsible and can provide safety and call the authorities.

So, "No!" I do not think it's ok for a Driver to flirt with his passengers.
That's as irresponsible as a teacher flirting with his students or a doctor with his patients.
We have a responsibility to remain neutral and unthreatening - safe.

I understand that Drivers are flirted with all the time.
I also know that most people meet their spouses at their places of work.
I feel that the Driver should be the exception to the rule and remain "safe."

I want you to be comfortable, not creeped out.
My bus needs to be a safe place, safe haven and a place of trust.
I can't imagine violating that.
But that's probably just me.
I'm probably the only Driver who thinks this way.

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy...

I've been asked this by Senior Drivers and two emails from y'all.

I can't respond to the dorks in the News, not as an official RTD Driver.

But personally I can totally understand how the Driver went the wrong way on the HOV lane.

In the News they tell you that they had serious training and the signs are all clearly posted etc etc etc.

Those signs, all read, "Buses Excepted"

So a new Driver may see that and figure he's on the right path.

Let me start from the begining:

In training we get like one day, maybe an hour or two of driving through Union Station and the HOV lanes before we switch with other drivers. And that training is done during the day, with a bus load of other students.

In the real world setting, we're sitting in the room, waiting for our assignments and at the last second we're told, "Driver! You have 13 minutes to get your bus ready and learn this route and get on the road!"

So a new Driver panics and looks at his "Trailblazer" which is a confusing mess of directions.
He takes 10 minutes (but needs 30) to get his bus ready and heads out onto the road.
It's dark in the AM so he's trying to read his TrailBlazer's directions and the street signs and figure out his route. To make it more difficult, he's in an accordian bus so he's navigating downtown.
His Trailblazer reads to hit the HOV lane (but he doesn't see the hours - he's panicked) and he figures that it's rush hour so using the HOV lanes is right on.

He maneuvers the gate that is only closed on one side of the lane, heads into Union Station and onto the HOV lane. He may not know it's not two way traffic during Rush Hour. He may figure that the HOV is both ways since he's never driven the HOV lane except MAYBE the one time in training class.

I'm not making excuses, because he was obviously a dumb ass but still, I can understand the how and why.

And then we hear that he quit.
It's a Union, nobody quits - he wouldn't have gotten fired for this, he never even got a ticket.
Somebody had to have talked him into leaving with threats and what not.

Again, I understand what/why he did it - maybe - but still....not making excuses for the guy.

So that's my personal (NOT PROFESSIONAL) opinion.
RTD is not associated in any way with my personal opinions.

Pointing Fingers & Naming Names!

A few of the senior Drivers and more than a few of my fellow "new" Drivers have recommended that I start posting the license plate numbers of the numpties who drive like maniacs on the road out there.

We had a good laugh and then they told me they were serious.

That kinda frightened me.

I mean, the funny part is maybe there would be people out there on the road who would be given the "you're number one" hand sign, cuting them off on the road and honked at all morning long.
And they'd never realize why, only that it is occuring the day after they ticked off a bus full of riders.

I mean, it's kinda funny but the scarey part is that these Drivers would seriously do it.
C'mon folks, you can't let other drivers on the road get to you.

They are having bad mornings.
They don't know how to drive.
They are in a huge rush and cutting us off then sitting (parked) in front of us in traffic is getting them where ever they need to go faster.
They didn't see us before they made that turn into our lane.

There are a million excuses and not one of them deserves more than a second of our thought and time before we need to move on with our jobs as Drivers.

I've got at least 60 people behind me who have paid to have my thoughts be on them.
The guy in front of me driving like a numpty, he's a ghost - gone without a thought.

It's fun to entertain some sort of vigilante revenge in a non-violent way but c'mon...
I'd rather not get fired, not get a ticket, not end up on the news and just have another uneventful day.

Wouldn't y'all?
So, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Is That Gonna Fit?

I don't know if many of y'all have noticed but these buses are pretty big!

I don't just mean they are long, heavy or tall.
I mean these things are so wide that they almost reach the white lines on both sides of the lane.

Normally that shouldn't matter to traffic around the bus because cars, trucks and everything in between are pretty small by comparisson so y'all fit smoothly into your own lanes.
And the bus fits within its lane.

But you have to have a pretty big set of brass ones to be that bicyclist who wants to ride between the bus and the curb, traffic or parked cars just to pass me for a block as I stop to pick up another passenger. And speaking of parked cars, who is really that brave to park their cars on Lincoln downtown?
Seriously, if you're parking your pickup, large suv or car on Lincoln, Broadway or any number of those streets downtown which have that huge solid white HOV lane line...
At least hug the curb. And for God's sake, please don't open your door before you've looked behind you?
Nothing frightens me more than during downtown traffic, trying to squeeze between that white line and a parked car that sticks out while noticing your foot on the brake and wondering if you're about to pop out of your vehicle. I see those doors open at the last second and my only choices are to take that door off or to take out the cars in traffic next to me. Normally I'd just pop off your door but odds are you're still attached to it so that's not a real option either.

I roll downtown and see those lines of cars with the yellow envelopes sticking out of the doors and know the police have ticketed y'all, and that's a small price to pay to learn not to park there during rush hours.
But c'mon, I don't need the challenge of not taking off your mirrors, of not taking off your doors, of not crossing over the white line into traffic and/or of not making the 5 O'Clock news.

That bus is WIDE and it barely fits into a normal and clear lane.
You just know that trying to fit it into a lane packed with bicycles, parked cars and traffic is just that much closer to geting another 15 minnutes of fame on the News - fame I don't want.

What's that motto, "Share the Road?"
Yeah, share the road folks and remember your friendly neighborhood bus Driver.

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Just Some Observations...

We're losing drivers left and right.
Guys not making it past their first year before quitting.
The Union driving them away by treating them like junk.
That's a whole 'nother story.

Point is, there is tons of work.
I'm working 7 days a week, getting tons of routes that are not my regular runs.

Recently I did a few of the morning runs that go from random remote Park N Rides straight Downtown to Stations like Civic Center and Market Street \.

I'm a "counter".
During my normal runs, I can tell you how many people usually can be found at each stop.
How many are on my bus and break it down.
So when I roll up to a  regular stop and there are only 3 and not 4 people, I can say, "Oh yeah that Lady is missing..." and start looking around to see if she's running to the stop.

Even more, I'm able to say, "Oh yeah, that Lady who rides her bike and always wears those bright pink flip flops and smells like fresh cut flowers..."
Oh, and speaking of fresh cut slowers...
Those of you who do these morning jaunts straight downtown, you smell a whole lot better than my normal pick up runs.
LOL
Even the guys tend to smell fresh, got their aftershave and body wash working.

And another observation:
When I arrive early and wait, it's usually the guys who are there earlier and the Ladies who show up at the last minute. Usually but not always and the riders are usually split pretty evenly between men and women.

Just a couple of random observations from my point of view.

You ready to be counted?
Then, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

What Was That?

Your Driver sits in his seat behind the wheel and you either put your cash fare into the farebox, or you show him your passes and transfers.

As your Driver, I'm responsible for checking each and every pass and transfer.
Passes are pretty easy, pretty plain to see.
Transfers are a bit more involved.

Both have their abusers.

I've had people flash me their driver's licenses and credit cards, King Sooper's shopper's cards - etc and just walk to the back.
If the line to get on the bus isn't very long, I'll ask them for the correct fare.
If it's moderate, I'll simply remind them as they bolt to the back.
If it's packed, I'm usually focusing on the next passenger.

But don't think they've gotten away with it.
We have cameras which record everybody entering the bus.
I hit a little button on my radio that records when a passenger doesn't pay.

Enough times and officers start walking the route.
These guys give tickets, and just the other day, three undercover officers physically dragged a guy who tried to run after getting caught not paying, dragged him off the ride and cuffed him.

So yes, you think I don't realize that is a King Sooper's card and not an Eco pass...
Or that that Student ID has no current RTD sticker on it.
I know, and I record it - I have to cover my butt so RTD doesn't think I'm giving away free rides.

And transfers...
I've seen some very creative tricks in my first year.
While I'm impressed with the creativity, I still react the same as I listed above for passes.
You're still stealing from the rest of the passengers and I have to record it when you don't pay.
I've seen the fingers over directions, over dates, the half fold over, the quick flash.
Or worse, folks grab light rail tickets from the ground and try to use those.
That may work if you're at a light rail station but when you're getting on the bus out at CenterPoint in Aurora...yeah, not so much!

As I get more comfortable and put in more time, I'm starting to pay much more attention to the fares.
I notice and I'm starting to tell people no.
I hate saying no to a customer/passenger but if you're trying to steal, trying to break the law, trying to board without paying...
It's my job to say,
"Sorry Sir/Ma'am, but I'm not authorized to give away free rides. The fare is $X.XX. If you chose to ride without paying that fare, you ride at your own risk."
More and more you really are putting yourself at risk as I've seen enforcement getting more serious and intense.

So slow down, have your fare and passes ready, don't hold up the line but don't try to pull a fast one.
I see what you're doing.
If you try flashing a fake form of payment, you are going to hear me say,
"What was that, your Colorado ID? Do you have a pass or fare, Sir?"

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Look, Up In The Sky - It's A Bird, It's A Plane....

It's A....
PASSENGER!

Some things are just worthy of repeating.

Like, "GET MY ATTENTION"

It's summertime at the moment, I have the benefit of full light in the morning and evening to see you at the stops, so when Winter comes all this will change.
But for now, I can see the stop a block or two before I reach it.
I can see people running to the stop a block or so in either direction.

If you're still coming down the block to the stop and you see me rolling up, wave at me.
Run at me, get my attention.
If you can see the front of the bus (me behind the wheel) odds are I can see you.
I'm looking.
As I roll up to stops, I'm scanning both sides of the street and I'm looking for "runners"

Runners are passengers who are not at the stop by the time the bus arrives but see the bus and start booking it.
I'm not a saddist, if I see you I'll pull over and pick you up so you don't have to run the whole way to the stop.
If you're coming down the block, I'll slow to a creep so you know I saw you and will wait.

One note: I creep while traffic permits.
What's that mean?
Well, as long as I can fly from one stop to another, I can spend the extra moment or two waiting for passengers at stops.
If traffic is jam packed, I can't fly so that means YOU have to fly.

Back to the topic;
I try to make sure I don't miss anybody and give everybody a chance to make it to the stop.
If you're on your phone, have your music in your ears and either don't see me or simply ignore me as I roll up - I have no way of knowing whether you're just a person walking the streets or a passenger needing a ride.
I'll leave and you'll give me that "you're number one" hand signal and look as I drive away.

Neither of us want that.

What you want is to get my attention if you have not made it to the stop on time.
Wave, flash the flashlight, do a jig, throw your small children...
Anything to get my attention - anything short of touching the bus and putting your safety at risk, that is.

I want to be able to have that motion catch my attention and me see you - pick you up and both of us make it to the destination quickly and safely.

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Check Please!

I've mentioned before that I had a passenger hop on the bus without paying and he got a ticket right then and there...

I need to practice my script/response for when I'm asked if a passenger can ride without paying a fare:
"I'm sorry [Ma'am/Sir] but I'm not authorized to give away free rides. The fare is $X.XX. If you chose to ride without paying that fare, you ride at your own risk."

This isn't a free license for folks not to pay, trust me - the buses and trains are filling up with undercover and uniformed officers.
I know we've all been noticing the increased presence.

But even if there wasn't as many officers, that's still not me saying it's a free for all, get on the bus, Gus.

Let's look at it this way:
You're getting on the front of the bus.
You and I are now center stage for everybody sitting down and waiting to get on with their rides.
The cameras & mics all over the bus are on and recording.
Now you look at me, give me a story and ask me to give you a free ride.
What you're asking me is to participate in your crime by allowing you to come on board without having paid and break the law.
You're saying to me, "Hey bud, you don't know me but I want you to risk your career for me because [insert reason given]"
And forget me for a second, you're standing in front of 60 other passengers who just forked over their own hard earned cash for a ride to/from work and they hear me say, "Sure, come ride for free."
Now they're wondering why they just paid for their rides and why the frick you're so special to be exempt from having to participate as well.
They're figuring all they had to do was break the law and they'd have been rewarded with a free ride like you.

I've had the rare occassion when a regular has forgotten his pass or not had the change.
They are regulars and I know that they have passes (I see them daily) and/or the regular who normally pays in cash pays double the next day. One just did that this afternoon as a matter of fact.
These are rare and special occassions, I can justify this to an officer and/or RTD when brought in front of my supervisors.

Please don't think I'm justifying any Driver being a jerk.
We don't know whether your grandmother, dog, sister, or car actually just died.
We don't know whether you just got out of jail, the hospital, or your ex's place and have no cash on you.
We don't know if you're telling the truth and if you are, our prayers are with you.

I need to give you the disclaimer.
If you chose to ride without paying, then whether your reasons justify your free ride is between you and the courts.
I have to press a button (record a "no fare") and write up when passengers ride without paying.
Then it's out of my hands and control.

While I love all the creative excuses I'm offered, please just pay the fare.
It's only $2 (Local) and with that $2 I can give you a transfer.

Reach into your pocket, grab your pass or cash...
Pay your fare...and as always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Union Blues...

I love my job and I'm a generally happy person.
I love my passengers and love coming to work to serve y'all.

But I am finding it more and more difficult to give YOU, the passenger & customer the best that we [RTD] can give you.

I'm still in my first year as a Driver with RTD.
So I'm learning about my company and what I can do and need to do.
My assigned street Supervisor (mentor) has gone missing so I ask others.
But every time I call a manager at RTD to ask a question the answer I get is,
"You need to call your Union Rep, Driver."
Huh?
But I work for RTD.

I have cost saving ideas that won't even be considered because the Union dictates the contracts and saving money for the public isn't even a factor.
It's all about greasing the palms of Union friendly businesses.

That friend of mine who was threatened by his manager for speaking out publicly against the Union?
He's been shortchanged on hours, missing paychecks, being told the wrong routes, etc.
Word is getting out that he isn't Union friendly.
He's talking about quitting and he only just got out of probation, his first 90 days!
He called some people to find out when the next vote to get rid of the Union will be held.
There won't be one, they OWN RTD.
You have to get a lawyer and start some petition and pay up the ying and get Senators & Congressmen to support it and put your left foot on top of the desk and you right hand behind your back while reaching around the ....
Yeah, jump through more hoops than it's worth.
The process has been designed that way, by the Union to cause RTD to have no choice but to hire Union Drivers and keep both the crappy and the good Drivers.

So I'm scared to death.
I have to keep my head low, my mouth shut and march to the Union beat or else...

I am sad that we [RTD] cannot provide you with the all around best customer service, the best financial practices and the best most professional attitudes that we are able.
That's the Union choking the good out of us, restricting what we give you.

But in spite of the Union, in spite of the poor morale they bring & cause, the dark shadows they cast on the company and the blues they give me at least twice a day...
In spite of that, I will do my absolute best -at least- to give you, my customers, my passengers the best, friendliest, safest and most efficient service and ride I possibly can.

Oh, my friend who is even more afraid than I am...?
The one who is considering quitting for fear of his life, his job and his family?
He records his concerns and sends me the files to keep.
Just in case [finger on side of nose] "anything" [/finger on side of nose] odd might happen!

Yeah, he's THAT paranoid and worried - but I completely understand, I'm almost that far along with him.

Ahhh, the Union Blues - I can just hear Crystal Gayle singing about it giving her Union Blues!
"Don't it give me Union Bluuuuueeesss..."
LOL

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Speaking of Speaking Out...

I mentioned that I've been reading the online comments that folks have been posting about their experiences with their Drivers.
I've found a ton all around the US and a bunch right here on the Front Range.

Most of the negative comments were about Drivers that are forced upon RTD by the Union.
If we didn't have a Union, RTD could fire the bad guys and reward the good Drivers.
Then y'all wouldn't have these dorks driving for you and ruinging your days.

Then I came to a complaint that a Driver had pulled over at a 7-11 or some such and left the passengers on the bus, alone for like 10 minutes or more while the Driver had gone inside to eat his lunch.
And somebody posted a reply defending that Driver, explaining that it's written into the Union contract with RTD that Drivers must take breaks.
Ok, first if that is the truth then there is one more reason the Union has failed you, the passenger/customer.
Secondly, while I've never been told I have to take a break or that it is Union law that I must, even if it was a rule, we're professionals. You pay us to drive.
Not eat.
We can eat on our own time.
We can bring food and drink and nibble/sip now and again if our fat butts can't go a whole couple of hours without!
There is no excuse for stopping and leaving customers on a bus while we go eat or drink.
There are soooooo many restrooms at the various stations.
There are sooooo many lay overs at the various stations.
We have plenty of time to recover, take breaks, restroom stops, smoke, what ever.
There is no reason [excluding emergencies] nor excuse for inconveniencing you, the customer/passenger with our needs while we're on the clock.

The next time you get dis-service like that, reach behind the Driver and grab a number.
Remember I've told y'all about those numbers?
They match the bus, the Driver and the route.
You call in with the time & date and that number and RTD will know all the rest of the details.

Call in with your comments and complaints.
Reward the good and punish the bad behaviour you like and dislike from your Drivers.

Don't be shy, speak out.

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Traffic Sign, I Didn't See No Stinkin Sign!

For those of you who have visited the "Colfax/Federal Transfer Center" in your travels, you know it has a funky intersection just outside of it.

At "O'Dark Thirty" I'm pulling out of the Center and ready to turn right back onto Federal.
It's a red light.
So we're sitting there.

A passenger in the back says out loud to the bus, "What, this guy is afraid to turn on a red?"
There is literally no other traffic on the road and because the intersection has no sensors in the road, we've been sitting there staring at the red light for a full three minutes, what seemed like an hour.

The passenger doesn't realize that there is a sign right in front of me which reads, "No right turn on red"
But as I've said before, any response from me just sounds like an excuse and now the rest of the passengers are starting to say, "Go, just turn, there's nobody coming, there aren't any cops around..."etc.

What they don't understand is that sign is there for a reason.
Not just the reason to annoy us and make our lives difficult.
Unlike our personal vehicles, the bus cannot react as quickly.
I can't see as clearly.
If you've been at that Center, you know that Colfax goes over I-25 and there are huge fences along the walls/overpass along that stretch.
So sight is severly limited and restricted; you can't see cars coming.

I could throw caution to the wind, disobey the traffic warning and go and odds are we'd be fine.
No tickets, no accidents and nobody would be the wiser.
Forget the traffic cameras, the cameras in the bus and the street supervisors who lurk EVERYWHERE!

Let's assume I pulled out and that one in one hundred chance happens and we get hit.
There are 60 people who are going to get hurt on the bus.
Plus me.
Plus the poor guy minding his business before a bus pulls out in front of him as he hits it at speed.
He'll probably die.
His kids in the car...dead.
The passengers on that side of the bus, if not critically injured...dead.
The guy runing for the bus because he saw me sitting there just a second ago and he thought he could catch us...dead.

Get the point?

The other night, I'm crossing a railroad track.
Buses have to stop at almost all tracks to check for trains.
It's early in the morning and I've never had a train come...so far.
But this one morning, a train did come.
The engine silently crossed the road just as we pulled up to the crossing.
All the regulars were like, "woah!"
One of the regulars regularly prompts me not to stop, to just keep going.
It's not one of those stops with the gates that come down to block the crossing.
What if the warning signals hadn't come on?
I pull across the tracks at just that one unlucky moment and.....

Yup...dead.

Points made, right?
I know that the traffic signs seem to have been designed to toy with and annoy us.
But they have reasons.
And I have to heed them or I'm not being safe to you, to the drivers around us, to RTD or to myself.
Safety is first and foremost, y'all know that, right?

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Speaking Of Road Rage...

We had a "detour" on our routes the other day.
Events downtown that caused the city to close roads and made RTD reroute the routes the buses take.

Of course there is always that rare passenger who's upset and trust me, I'm right there with you because when you count on a ride...it just sucks when who you were counting on "bailed" on you.

As the passenger is getting off he says to me, "I'm so [censored] fed up and disgusted with RTD right now. If I had ANY OTHER choice, I'd take it."

Dude! I felt like I'd been sucker punched.

I mean, I've been in Customer Service long enough to know that you are not going to please all of the people all of the time. Somebody is going to be having a bad day for one of a million reasons and quite possibly, several of those reasons all at the same time.
I knew that I wasn't going to make him happy at that moment, that I could not make him happy.
I apologized over and over as he left but I know that customers don't want to hear excuses, especially when they're upset.
"The city has blocked the roads. The city won't let us driver down there..."
They are just that, excuses to the customer/passenger.
I couldn't get him to where he needed to go so I'd personally failed him in my eyes and his.

And I can relate.
Y'all remember the Bolder Bouder?
It's this little run/race up in Boulder on Memorial Day, had something like 75,000 runners from all over the world and all of their families, friends, companions and visitors all gathered into the tiny little town of Boulder.
The city itself is only about 25sq miles and only about 94,000 strong.
So triple it's population for the day and then add all their vehicles and every bus in the RTD system!

I was driving one of what seemed like 200 of the "accordian" buses and it was a nightmare.
People paid huge money to race and they paid us to get them to the race and back to their cars.

But the traffic, which at times seemed to only consist of buses was so backed up that one loop around the city took me two hours. The passengers/runners were on their phones, talking about missed starting times, missed group runs, lost fees and opportunities and kids were crying.
People were hoping off the buses and attempting to run the miles to the race just to run some more!

RTD set up the Drivers for failure.
RTD could have planned the event, the routes and the road closures, could have coordinated this with the town of Boulder months and months in advance.
They could have had a loop around the city, half the lanes reserved for buses only that was like an express lane. We could have shuttled runners around the city in fifteen minutes.

What ended up happening was they left it all on the shoulders of the Drivers.

The Driver has been (pun intended) thrown under the bus and left to fend for themselves.
We are the front lines, and we have to look you, the passenger/customer in the eye and say, "I'm sorry."

It's an utter helpless feeling.
I can offer you a free ride in the name of good customer relations but when I get found out that I'm giving out free rides, RTD will write me up and eventually fire me.
And the passengers who see me giving out free rides to others, the passengers who paid huge money for their passes then see me giving free rides - they are going to feel slighted.
Now I just upset another passenger by trying to soothe an upset passenger.

I know y'all are upset.
I WANT to, I NEED to make it up to you.
I want y'all to get the best ride I can give you every day.
I can only control the ride we're on, the moment we're on it.
I can only make sure you come aboard a bus with a pleasant Driver, have a safe ride and arrive on time.

It kills me when y'all are unhappy and have bad experiences.
I want you to get off the bus every day and think, "Dang, I'm gonna miss those guys until Monday!"

And to the passenger who said to me that if he had any other choice, he'd take it...
You have no idea how sorry I am that you feel that way.
If I thought RTD would do it, I'd recommend they give you a year's pass to attempt to begin to mend the relationship.
Come back and let me try to make your feelings about RTD better?

Please?

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Road Rage, Party of 60?

The other day, packed deep in traffic on the highway our Express route was slowed to a crawl.
Of course a bus full of regulars, all wide awake and all watching with rapt attention the traffic in front of us.

When out of nowhere another driver sees the 40 foot "cushion" between the bus and the car in front and this other driver decides that he wants to be right there - right now.
I saw the driver while he was still next to me but he was off my "left corner" in front of me and didn't give any indication he was going to cut in.
He cut in so close and so quickly that he almost took off the corner of the bus and the bike on the rack in the front.

Granted we were only going about ten miles an hour but at that moment, slamming on the brakes caused everybody on the bus to instantly get mad at the driver that they had just watched cut us off.
I heard language that I haven't heard since my days in the Service.

I think I may have even learned a few new words!

The driver who cut us off must have felt slighted that I took a whole 5 seconds to back off and give him the same "cushion" that was between the bus and the previous car, because he proceeded to start slamming on his brakes and start flipping us that good 'ol, "You're number one" internationally known hand signal.

Two of the passengers returned the love through the front window.

I had to ask them to return to their seats, for safety and all.
Inside I felt like a father whose son just got suspended for beating the tar out of the school bully.
I mean, I know what everybody was doing was the wrong response but at the same time, I felt a surge of pride - these guys (and even the Ladies) were ready to get off the bus and get all "Posse" on this guy in front of us.

That's when the bus went quiet - when I'd asked the hand signalers to return to their seats.
That's when they realized I was not joining in on the swearing, yelling, honking and sign language.

I don't know what other drivers have abused y'all but I'm sorry.
A ticked off Driver, a Driver filled with road rage, one who is cursing and driving agressively is nothing but a dangerous Driver.
Don't get me wrong, I was ticked plenty - had I not been in uniform and on the clock, I would have fit in nicely with the rest of the passengers about ready to lynch the offending driver in front of us.

But I'm not a passenger, I'm your Driver.
I'm in uniform and I'm on YOUR clock, YOUR dime.
You, the passenger pay me to be responsible, clear headed and safe.
If I get offended by any driver around me there is no way to get that anger out of my system.
That's why I read all the negative comments by passengers about Drivers who yell at y'all for silly things like radios, cell phones, open coffee cups, foul language, laughing out loud, etc.
You don't need me, your Driver to be the reason you're starting your days all grumpy.
You want me to be the guy who smiles at you and says, "Good Morning."
Not, "Yeah yeah, gimme your money, shut the @%$& up and go sit down or get off my bus!"

Road rage is dangerous to the traffic around us, it's dangerous to the passengers on the bus and it is dengerous to my career as a Driver.
Road rage does not serve YOU, me or RTD.

So I refuse to allow bad drivers on the road to cause me to have a bad day; to cause my passengers to have a bad day and maybe...just maybe me smiling back will make that other driver think twice about what he's done and perhaps he'll make a change and have a better day afterwards.

But I honestly felt like I was the first Driver to be...
Well to be pleasant.
I shocked the passengers into silence and I'm not sure they liked me right then!
o_O
I can live with it because tomorrow is another day and another chance to make your day start smoothly, safely and on time - pleasantly.

And as always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Floor It, Driver!

I know you passengers have seen probably more than I in my short time as a Driver.
But I've seen some really odd and creative "transportation devices" that folks use to carry their stuff to and fro.

We have so many outdoorsmen (we don't have "homeless" in Colorado, they are outdoormen) who carry their gear in shopping carts.
So when this latest passenger boarded with her cart, I wasn't shocked...per se.

I mean, I don't know where y'all get your devices; whether it's been purchased or stolen from a store.

But when a Passenger boarded from Walmart with her groceries loaded on what looked like a "garden center" cart (not your normal basket cart) and the huge name, "WALMART" emblazoned on the handle bar and she was promting me to go quicker - we were using the lift....

I seriously felt like I was an accomplice and the bus was a get-a-way car!

Kinda thrilling but at the same time, I fully expected every cop car we passed to spin around and pull us over, lights flashing...

Dude!

Not cool - I don't need those kinda rushes during my routes.

And as always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"
But please, leave the carts behind...

Public Service Announcement - Identity Theft

I hear this all the time but this morning was really bad.

A Lady is sitting beside me on the bus and she calls her bank to cancel some payment she didn't authorize.
I'm not eavesdropping, I'm almost a part of the conversation - she's so loud and close to me.

She's giving the bank the normal information they request when you call - information that identifies her to them:
Her account number, address, date of birth, security password, phone number, etc.
I'm sure you're screaming at the computer screen right now and right then I wanted to scream at her, "STOP!"
But it's none of my business.

But c'mon - there could have been ANYBODY on that bus writting down her information as she spoke it, she was that loud.
And by the time she got home, her identity could have been stolen and she'd have a ton more than just one charge to contest.

Please folks, do your important phone work in private and save the kissy kissy mushy stuff for the bus.
That's what everybody wants to hear.
Then we can give you grief and make kissy kissy noises at you when you're done with your calls!

:P

And as always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"