Gimme A Sign....

YIELD!!!

So I hope y'all have had a great first two weeks of the new schedule and New Year?
Everybody's finally settled down, no more time off and settled in to their new schedules and routines.

Most everybody is now paying the new fares correctly and most everybody has figured out the new times and connections.

If you ride the new "12" and you are a passenger from the previous 7 - I've been praying for ya!
o_O   no, really I have...you've needed it.

This New Year has been packs with new stuff:
From new combined runs like the 12 to new fares and new schedules.
But also us Drivers are getting a new boost from a law that was passed in 2009.
By now many of you have seen the big yellow arrows with those bright red "YIELD" signal lights on the backs of our buses.

You can read about it in today's Sunday Post ( or click here to read the article )
It allows us to get back into traffic and attempt to keep our schedules.
For instance:
As a 0 bus coming into Downtown on Lincoln, I can be on time all from Highlands Ranch but as soon as I hit Lincoln and pull over at say Center street, I'm stuck.
First I wait for every single car to go by as nobody will let me merge in.
Oh, I can be assertive but the first guy who gets offended by me asserting my big bus in front of him, will take my number, call RTD and complain that I hurt his feelings and BLAMO! I'm written up and from that point on, I'll wait until everybody on my bus grows old and gray before I jump into anything less than an empty lane in traffic again!
So I wait for every last car from the traffic light to go by then I can get back onto Lincoln.
Then of course I've hit that red light, then pull into the next stop at Virginia, then wait for all the traffic to pass and get stuck at Alameda's light.
Then do this at every light and stop all the way down to Colfax and it can take up to 20 minutes, not to mention I have to repeat this up 18th and add another 10 minutes to a 35 minute trip that should have taken me less than ten!

The point is that the Buses should be saving everybody time and money but instead are being boxed in at stops so they've come up with a way to help.

The Yield Sign.

As I start to make my way back into traffic, that red yield signal will begin to flash, warning y'all that according to the law, you're supposed to yield.
And it could result in a $100 ticket if you don't!

It's not that bad, I know how frustrating it can be to be stuck behind a bus.
Hey, I get stuck behind these stupid contractors driving RTD's buses all the time and they freakin drive me nutso.
But give the bus a brake, he'll probably only be in front of you for another block or two before he pulls over into another stop and you can fly down the road back into another traffic jam four cars further up than you were behind the bus.

Oh, and if you go down Broadway from 13th to Alameda or up Lincoln from I-25 to 13th, you've seen cops in the HOV lanes more frequently lately, yeah?
I love it.
It's really like shooting fish in a barrel when they do this.

That's an HOV lane - meaning you have two or more people in your car (like a bus!)
OR you're about to make a right hand turn.

They usually wait until the overhead lights are flashing when it's not an HOV lane but a right turn only.
The cops sit just past a turn and wait to see who comes flying down.

Then BLAMO! Ticket time...

That solid white line protected lane is for parking (kinda), HOV during Off Peak hours and right turns only during peak rush hours.

So be more aware now.

Be Safe.
Be Aware.
Be On Time.

And YIELD to me now!
ha ha ha ha ha

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