Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful...

NOT!

The last few weeks have been a weather rollercoaster.
From -35° to 66°.
From warm (if not HOT) and sunny to 8" of snow and icy in most places.

And when it gets bad, you know the roads lock up.

But that doesn't always mean YOUR bus will be late.
In fact, most are not.

Keep in mind that it's not the weather or the roads that are bad but the folks driving them.
Many of you passengers know this as you watch all kinds of wild driving abilities being displayed front of the bus.

The buses which are late are usually the "inserts" but what does that mean?

Remember, I'm only talking about RTD here, not the private companies which lease RTD buses and run routes.
RTD has around 400 runs in any given day, at least 20% of which are Trippers.
Those numbers are not exact but pretty close.
The point is that a tripper is not the full run most passengers are used to.
A full run of say the 0 goes from Denver to Highlands Ranch.
A tripper may start at the Broadway Station and run to Broadway & Colfax then change into another route and do another partial run.
In the mornings for example, the 116X from Ken Caryl Ranch goes to the Civic Centre Station then changes to a 38 at Wadsworth and only goes to Stout & 18th before shutting down and heading back to the garage.
So the folks who ride the 38 don't know that the bus is inserted into the 38 schedule at Wads and always freak out when it stops at Stout/18th.

The 38 that runs from Walmart in Applewood to Stapleton and back would only have to deal with local traffic in bad weather and would most likely be within a few minutes of being on time.
The 116X that is inserted would have to contend with traffic on 6th Ave into town, then traffic in Downtown, then traffic inside the Civic Centre Station then traffic on I-70 West to Wadsworth.

In snow & ice like we had a week or two ago, that bus could be an hour late while the buses on the route who are not inserts would only be a minute or two behind.
Even when the roads are clear and the sun is out, traffic can still be an issue.
Jams, accidents, obstructions, etc can make an insert late.

I'm not making excuses for late Drivers, I'm just trying to help some of you Passengers understand why they are late.
Again, this only applies to RTD because I'm told that the private bus Drivers can be an hour late if they show up at all - even in the summer when the roads are bone dry and the sun is shining and there is no traffic on the road!

Something I noticed after the weather cleared last week:
TONS of broken mirrors on cars parked downtown.

While I pray for more careful Drivers and don't condone or encourage folks breaking these mirrors on purpose, I really don't feel sorry for folks who park downtown, on the street in bad weather.
Don't misread that as me saying, "I'm glad it happens..." - that's not what I'm saying.
I am saying that when cars are sliding all over the place, when you have to park 2 feet from the curb and you KNOW big commercial vehicles and buses are already driving close to your parked car...
Is it really smart to park there?
Is an extra few bucks for a paid parking lot spot worth it over coming out the next morning or after work and finding you got hit, nobody left a note and your insurance wants a huge deductible to replace a very expensive mirror?
Even when the weather and roads are clear, some folks park so far from the curb that I have to literally change lanes and obstruct traffic just to avoid the accident.

Be careful out there.
Winter is far from over.
You KNOW that here in Colorado, when the weather treats us to this many sunny and warm days in a row, it exacts a price by handing out the opposite soon after!

Stay warm, patient and safe folks.
I'm doing my best...

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