Hakuna Matata

Chill Out, Man.
It's the circle of life!

So I'm sure y'all have seen those wild life shows where they study Lions & Lionesses hunting and prowling the wilds.
Then they show the hyenas who group by the dozens, out numbering the lionesses and stealing their kills.
One on one the hyena doesn't stand a chance.
But in the large groups, they sometimes even attack and kill lionesses.

Then you always see the King of the jungle come pouncing in and taking out an entire pack of the mangy hyenas all by himself, tossing the kills left and right, never even once going in for a second bite or to eat them.
Killing them just because of the rivalry.

Sometimes I feel like that's how the taxis drivers in this city see us.
There are a bazillion of them and they run in packs.
Taking over the streets, turn lanes and intersections.

They don't drive by any laws; running red lights, edging into intersections and cutting off smaller buses.

Then along comes a City bus, or better yet, the accordian bus.
One honk, one turn into a pack of taxis and they scatter likes flies.

Dirty little taxis.
They treat other drivers on the road like tripe.
They cut people off and lie to fares about the costs and availablity of The Bus.

Their slogans are like, "Lowest Rates In Denver" but they forget that I can take you from the Cold Springs Park N Ride all the way to the Airport Park N Ride for only $2.00.

BEAT THAT you pesky little fleas!
LOL

Yeah, RTD - the Kings of the Jungle.

Ok Ok, I know - I have a very active imagination.
Hey! I drive for a living.
I have tons of time to think up these wild ideas.

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

PSA - REMINDER...(Kinda)

Don't forget that this is my blog.
I'm just a regular Joe like the rest of us here in Denver.
I have a job and that happens to be a Driver for RTD.
But this is my blog, not RTD's.
These are my beliefs, my opinions and practices.
Not RTD's.
They've reminded us that they neither support nor endorse anything I post, this blog, etc.

You'll find that in my posts I generally post in favour of the customer, the passenger & the tax payer.
I don't support raising fares.
I do support customer service, safety & efficiency.

I usually agree with RTD, never with The Union.
That puts me at odds with about 40% of the Drivers (in my experience).
So far in my first year that's produced job, death and physical violence threats.
None of which I want to "report" because that would jeopardize my career, my home, my family and my health - both mental and physical.

So again, this is my blog.
About my job.
My thoughts, my opinions and my ideas.

Keep that in mind as you read my posts.

Oh Sugar - Honey Honey....

I forgot to tell you what happened to me last week.

First, let me fill in the process and story.

After the bus gets to the end of each route, each direction, Drivers walk the bus and check for anything left behind by Passengers.
When we find something, we take it back to the Garage and fill out a little form, the item gets tagged and sent to the Lost and Found, at the Civic Centre Station.

Passengers call the following Business Day and claim their belongings.

We are required to go through whatever is left behind.
We have to count cash, we have to discard perishables.
Food, drink, cigarettes, etc all get tossed - our Supervisors tell us that they can't take it.

Ok, so that said - last week I find a huge box left in the back of the bus.
It's super light so I'm not thinking it's a bomb and it doesn't rattle.
The box had scooted under the seats in front of the back seats so I can understand how they missed it.

And I'm pretty sure I know the Ladies (and their daughters) who left it behind.
But of course I didn't find it until the end of the run.
As soon as I opened the box, I KNEW who owned it.
Well, who lost it.

It was a box of cookies.
The good kind too.
And not just a single, what 8oz? box, but a box full of boxes, like a case of cookies.

I didn't know (remember) what stop the Ladies had gotten off at and I couldn't drive back.
The next two trips back and forth I looked high and low to see if the Ladies had come back to find me and their box.

So I took it back to the Division (Garage) and tried to turn it in.
You can see where this is going...
It's "Perishable" and I was told to toss it.
Don't eat it, don't take it home, toss it.

I'd considered taking it with me for a couple of days until the Ladies came back on.
But I think my supervisors either knew what I was thinking or they thought I was going to try to sneak it home to eat em.
Either way, they kept their eyes on me as I left.
For all I know, they went and got the box after I left!

They had a good point:
I didn't know these passengers from Jack.
The "cookies" could have been laced or something.
Or the Passengers could have come back for their cookies and charged me for the eaten cookies, etc.

Either way, following their instructions was the wise thing but I wanted to give them back.

So if you lost your cookies (yes, I realize how funny that sounds!) on the bus, I did find them and did try to turn them into Lost & Found.
I'm sorry but they won't take perishables.

The Moral of this Story, my friends?
Don't leave stuff on the bus.
And I realize there will be accidents.
So when you do forget something on the bus, call the number (303-299-6000).
I (we) turn your stuff in as soon as our runs are over and the next business day, you can pick them up at the Civic Centre Station.

As always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats (& check em before you leave) - Let's Roll!"

If I Can't Say A Word...

A Passenger asked me the other day, why Drivers always wave to each other when we pass each other.

Then she added that another Driver had told her that it's because we need to see a friendly face, a smile and be reminded that we have friends out there.

I was like, huh?

I wave at other Drivers because it's friendly, polite and they are my co-workers.
And they are waving at me!

But friendly, friends, smiles?
I get that endlessly all day long.
My Passengers freakin rock.

While appreciated, I don't need waves and smiles from co-workers to get me through the day.
My Passengers give me all the smiles, all the friendly faces and all the love and can stand in a day.

Why do I wave at other Drivers?
Because I'm overflowing with good cheer thanks to my Passengers and I need to share or I'll explode!

Can you feel the love?

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

8 Days A Week

Seriously, has it been that long since I've posted?
Sorry.

I'm so busy Driving these days....
I'm busier than a horny Beagle in a room full of hairy legs in shorts!

That's pretty busy, eh?

So much to say.
So many rants and raves that have gone unsaid in the last week.

But most of all right now, I just want to thank you.
You, the Passenger.
You have been patient, understanding and have been flexible during these last two weekends and the last busy week.
Long traffic jams.
Running behind schedule because of the volume of Passengers, stops, using the Lift to get folks in and out.
Because of traffic jams and silly drivers going nuts and cutting off the bus.

I try to make light of nearly every trip when it gets that packed on the bus.
I try to be happy, cheerful and contagious.

And y'all have returned it in spades.

There was a point towards the end of July & beginning of August when I thought maybe ridership was going down down down.
But y'all have turned that around big time and have packed dang near every route and bus I've driven for the last 6 weeks.

So again, I want to thank you - wish I could do more in return for all the love y'all give me.

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

Ricky Don't Lose That Number...

I've only had two bad days so far during my first year here at RTD.
The first day of "bad" was my first day - how stressful can it really be to be given a 33 ton vehicle, let loose all by yourself, with directions to a route you have no idea how to drive, in the dark when you can't see the street signs to know when/where to turn and a time table that is so tight that anything under 65 miles an hour will make you and your passengers late!


Passengers asking questions about connecting routes and directions, folks with fake passes and transfers from the wrong month, wrong directions and even the wrong color.
Guys opening their wallets in front of you saying all they have are 20's & 100's, asking if they can ride free.


Passengers all wanting the Lift and special stops.
"Driver, can you hurry up, we are behind schedule?"


Yeah, that was my first day.
I even told some poor little crying kiddo behind me that only the bus Driver was allowed to cry during the ride.
That got a laugh, finally.


I'm always asked how I like my job.
I always respond that I love it.
I'm told they can tell.

I do love my job.
As long as I'm driving.
I can work 12 hours a day 7 days a week - as long as I'm on the rode with Customers, I'm loving my job.
But as soon as I get back into that Garage, politics, drama, discrimination and what nots run rampant.
Drivers aren't quitting left and right because of the bus or the road.
It's the Garage.


The second day of "Bad" was this weekend.
My worse day ever.
Started by being harassed by another Driver.
Put me in a really bad mood.
Then the Driver I relieved for the second half of my day put me over the top.
The bus was a pig sty.
Trashed, stinky, no transfers cut, no schedules, trash all over the dash, mirrors looking out into space and the Driver wouldn't let me grab the bus until a normal stop where all I'm able to do is jump in the seat and take off.
We have layovers when the bus sits for ten or more minutes until taking off for the next run.
Those are the perfect times to adjust the mirrors, clean the bus, cut transfers, get ready for the next run.
It's called, "Recovery"
With the other Driver not letting me get ready for my run, I had to go for another hour and a half without being able to see out of my right side mirrors or see passengers through those big mirrors inside.
And to make it even worse, the day was sooooo busy that I had to drive THROUGH those recovery layovers at each end of the route to stay only a few minutes late each way.
That meant no clean up, no Lysol/air freshener, no mirrors and I had to punch transfers at red lights.
And no bathroom breaks all day.
Which meant no drinking all day so I didn't have't stop, which I couldn't have anyway.
And everything piled up to make me want to park the bus and walk home.
Just leave.


They even show us a video of a Driver doing just that in the middle of a route.
Of course they add that he may have faced Federal and civil charges for leaving the bus and passengers alone like that, etc.


And in the midst of it all, proof there is a Big Guy in the sky.
He sent along a few random Angels to tell me I'm the best Driver, the nicest Driver, the most friendly, helpful etc Driver they've met.
One random Passenger said this then gave me her cell number as she left.


Woah!

LOL, really?
Giving the Driver your number?
What was it, the uniform?

One Passenger said she's been on my buses many times before and that she's seen me keep my cool in some difficult situations, impressing her.


I wanted to ask, can you tell that I'm having the worst day of my brand new RTD Career today?
But obviously nobody could tell.
So I guess I'm better at what I do than even I thought I was.

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

White Lines...

"Ticket to ride, white line highway...
Tell all your friends, they can go my way...
Pay your toll, sell your soul..."
 
All week long I've had this song stuck in my head!
With everybody back from the long Labor Day weekend,
the roads have been packed.
Trying to drive downtown is a nightmare.
 
The lanes are sooo soo narrow that in order to fit between the cars sticking out from the curb to my right, I have to ride that white line to my left.
And still give the other drivers room without encroaching into their lanes.

Like John DeLorean, I'm riding that white line.
Oh no I di'int just go there - yes I believe I did - I made that joke!
 
So I've been like PacMan these last few days and riding those white lines that divide the lanes.
All the while I've been hearing this song from the 80's haunt my head...
And when Passengers pull the cord for their stops, the song always jumps to,
 
"Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
Diggedy dang di-dang diggedy dang di-dang..."

You KNOW it's stuck in your head now too.
You're welcome!
I'm just sharing the love with ya.

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

At First I Was Afraid...

Phew - so I survived this long Labor Day Weekend.
More people downtown this weekend than in the State at any one time!

Seriously, the organizers estimated that at one point there were more than a million people roaming around between downtown, the CU/CSU game and Electric Avenue Music & Arts Festival in Five Points.

It's back to work and everybody is ready to get back to it.
We all need a vacation from the vacation.
Well, except those of us who worked during your vacation.

Oh, which reminds me:
The vacation is over...
Make sure you have your Sept passes and please stop trying to give me the old blue transfers.
Really?
I had a Passenger try to give me one this morning.

So yeah, just toss all those now, folks.
The jig is up - y'all are busted.
ha ha ha

Welcome back from the long weekend.
I hope everybody's rested, relaxed and sunburned.

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

Wait!
P.S.

Please don't forget to go to the RTD page about the proposed fare increases.
You need to find a location of a meeting in your area.
You NEED to go and tell them, "NO!" - not to raise the fares.
There is plenty of waste in the system right now:
Extra runs, little tiny one run routes that only last an hour or two.
Drivers sitting around in the Driver's room, waiting for work - sometimes not working at all.
We can take back some of the routes from the private sectors and start running the routes and maintaining the buses under RTD, cutting costs, etc.
There are plenty of cutback, cost saving changes we can implement, rather than rather your fares during a down economy.
So go to the meetings, tell them that you want them to clean up the process and to wait to raise fares until we absolutely need to.
Ok - I'm done.
Just remember, these are only my opinions and no matter what I say, RTD neither supports nor endorses my opinions.

Better Late Than Never!

So I told you that we had some detours downtown because of The Taste of Colorado.
What I forgot to tell you was that there were going to be a few delays!

And Oh Boy - have there been delays.
The morning half of my run ran so late that when I got to my "turn around" point to head back into town, I just dropped folks off and headed back into Denver.
No rest or reset - just boggie on down.

The second half of the run had me soo behind that I was actually on time for the next run.
So folks were no longer upset but glad to see me, thinking I was right on time!
And the Drivers behind me were so late that they were doing the runs of guys behind them.
It all worked out really well.

I've done runs on game days during Rockies & Broncos games and I've done a few runs during other weekend long events downtown.
But nothing prepared me for this weekend.
Between the CU vs CSU game, The Taste of Colorado and the long Labor Day weekend, it was sooo crowded downtown that we had to have detours around our detours.
I drove for seven hours this afternoon with no "stops" for food, water or restroom breaks.
The AC stopped working halfway through the day and the bus was parked in traffic more than it was moving down the road.
And to make certain I remember this day, the bus was packed so fully that most of the time it worked like a huge conveyor belt - you came in the front, packed in then eventually moved to the back and left out the back door!
And when I tell you we were packed solid, don't take that with a grain of salt.
If RTD pulled the surveillance system's video we would see that it was so tightly packed that instead of sitting, most people were standing three and four people thick (some even standing in the seats to make more room) in the seating rows.
We almost had to push strollers and "mobility devices" out the back door just to keep the conveyor moving.

But I gotta give Denver credit.
With the (it had to be over a thousand people served on just my bus alone today) amount of people processed this afternoon through my poor broken down bus, I can't recall one negative or sour pussed passenger.
Everybody kept it light, upbeat, we told a few jokes - everybody had patience and was helpful and understanding all day.
Folks engaged in some pretty awesome conversations that at times got the whole bus involved - it really was like going camping - some trips we were stuck on that bus together for over an hour.

So thank you, Denver - you were a great crowd today.
You left a positive impression on a squeaky new Driver who still loves his job.
And after today, I'd be fully justified in hating it.
But I don't.
I may stink to high Heaven from sweating like a pig all day in that nasty Driver's seat, and I may be dehydrated with an exploded bladder - but I'll tell you what...
The company sure was great.
In fact, I liked it so much - I think I'll do it again tomorrow.

Actually, I have to do it all over again on my Sunday run.

I'ma go say my Prayers right now - Lord be with me, that tomorrow all the same people get on my bus.

You know the Drill, "Welcome aboard, find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Oh Where Oh Where Has The Little Bus Gone...?

Denver is celebrating the Labor Day Weekend with the Taste Of Colorado.

Downtown in the Civic Center Park they have set up tents and baracades blocking the roads and routes.
Which means that the buses will be detouring all weekend long.

I get sworn at ever time somebody misses his bus or has to be dropped off at an alternate location due to detours.
RTD posts "Rider Alerts" at stops and has a section on their site with detours:
http://www3.rtd-denver.com/elbert/RiderAlerts/index.cfm
(copy/paste that into your browser)
You don't need to read every detour in the system, just look at the routes you use regularly.
And you don't even need to check those links daily.

As a passenger, I used to read the detours of the routes I rode, then forget about it.
I used to ride the 6 all the time.
When I went to a stop and saw all the baracades, or saw that the detour was in place, I knew where to go as an alternate pickup because I'd read the detours pages in the past.
I didn't care about the day to day detours, just knowing where to go kept me from missing my bus and being late to work.
You can do the same, book mark the link I posted above.
Check out your particular routes.
When the day comes there is a detour, you'll know where to go and how to handle it - if you need to leave the house earlier or need to walk a block or two out of your way so you're not late, etc.

If you go downtown this weekend, you'll see that there are obvious detours.
If you know where to go and which stops won't be serviced during the Taste of Colorado and other detours, you won't be surprised this time or the next.

Drivers do their best to accommodate passengers standing lost in the middle of nowhere, we want you to be safe and get to where you need to go.
Just keep your eyes open and your heads up for these changes and detours.

It goes a long way towards allowing us to give you the best service we're able.

And by the way, I know this sounds like a fluff piece for RTD - but it's not.
Y'all know the drill by now, regardless of my love for safety, customer service and keeping y'all informed, everything I post is just my opinion and RTD neither endorses nor supports....
Yeah, anyway...

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

Hey Snow White, We're Missing A Dwarf!

I hear Passengers complain about grumpy Drivers all the time.
In fact, I get those compliments all the time because of it,
"You're the nicest...you're the most upbeat....you're the friendliest...."

Not because I really am nicer, friendlier or happier than anybody else.
But because some Drivers are truly grumpy!

And I'm starting to really understand why.
Don't get me wrong, I don't condone the bad moods, foul tempers or swearing.
Whether at the passengers or traffic around them.
But I understand at least part of the reason.

I'm told it's because I'm still too new, too fresh and chipper - that I don't get affected by the traffic.
I'm told it's because I'm an idiot or because I'm ignorant.
Yup, Senior Drivers say all this too me.

But I still understand why traffic puts other Drivers in a bad mood.
I experience it all the time, the bad traffic.
Bad drivers who cut us off, who slam on their brakes, who dart in and out of our "safety cushions" - you know, those open spaces around the buses? Drivers always leave exit plans, safety cushions and buffer/brake zones around the bus.
Consider this: at the speed limit, I'm going just shy of 100 feet per second.
In only 3 seconds, I've covered a football field.
Then consider that the bus runs from 25 to 35 tons.
So trying to stop a bus on a dime - you know, when that car darts in front of the bus then slams on his brakes because...well, just because?
Yeah, that dime.
It takes almost that whole football field just to stop.
More actually but if I slam on the brakes, I may stop within that 300 feet.
Problem is, that open space, that cushion I left between me and the car in front of me?
Yeah, you and another driver or two jumped into that cushion at the last second.
So now I have you and another driver on my football field - about to get tin can crushed.

It really really really is dangerous, folks.
I can't stress how flipping dangerous it is to cut off the bus.
Please stop this.
I know you wont but I have to ask.

You don't normally hear about buses crushing the cars in front or around them.
The Drivers do a really good job of driving defensively and being aware and reacting well.
But the occasional accident makes headlines all over.
It's brutal.

Me, I don't care, really.
You can drive like the nutter you are, I'll just slow down and be safe.
I'm paid by the minute - outta YOUR taxes - so if you want to be a jerk and cut me off, I'll do my job and slow down.
Now the passengers you're ticking off who are in my bus?
One day you'll be one of them.
And you'll get ticked at the guy cutting us off - that's Karma.

But I can't ask this enough, please driver safely?
Please be aware that the bus you're jerking around isn't the Volkswagen you cut off a minute ago, but a 35 ton cruise missile aimed at your rear license plate.
Please be safe.

And if you want these other Drivers to be less grumpy, be nice to them.

That's Bright!

Have you seen the new transfers?

So RTD has new transfers for the remainder of 2010.
Which caught a handful of regulars off guard this morning.

I've a few regulars who very blatantly open their day timers and flip to the current date then show me a transfer.
If I ask to see the full ticket (so I can see the month) they have solutions for that too.
Some have enough saved to work for each day of each month.

So RTD has converted to the new bright orange transfers.
These have the year marked on top as well.

This morning I even had one guy cussing and swearing that he'd have to walk to work.
Don't mis read that, I didn't refuse service to anybody this morning, they just all turned away when I pointed out that the blue transfers were not correct.
They were caught in the act of trying to steal a ride and without either of us saying anything out loud, they just walked away.
Well, all except that one guy.

So bring cash, passes or the correct transfers.
We have new transfers so don't get caught with the blue.
Remember, fare inspectors are all over the place!

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