The Tortoise Or The Hare?

Before I write this I want to preface my comments with two thoughts:

1) "...As I've repeatedly pointed out, I'm not in any way speaking for RTD, in fact they've asked me to remind you that they neither sponsor nor endorse my blog."
2) I LOVE, absolutely love serving the customer, which is why I've chosen this career - I get to serve my passengers, they trust their lives in my hands daily.

That said, I applied to work at the bus side of RTD, not in the Access-a-Ride or Call-n-Ride sides of the house.
While I love service and I've been reminded by some of my regulars (passengers) that I am patient to a fault - I personally don't feel that I'm up to the standards or that I'm a good enough "servant" to work for these other departments.

But as we make more and more cutbacks at RTD, we are seeing more and more of a blending of the services. More and more Access-a-Ride customers are needing to use the regular route side of the house and lately I'm seeing more regulars at the end of their patience, more schedules and connections tossed to the wind and more regular passengers storm off the bus in vulgar and vocal rages.

I'm very sorry to both sides of this coin.

But to exasperate the situations, I'm seeing more and more of the "entitlement minded" special needs passenger join the ranks.
I'm guessing this is because they've grown so used to being given more personalized services over the years, paid for by the rest of us - that as they make their way over to this side of the system, that they expect (and I'm to provide it - legally as well as morally) and demand intimate attention from the Driver as well as preferential treatment from both the Driver and the other passengers/paying customers.

The last couple of weeks I've been on some very busy runs/routes.
Almost every day I've run into the very demanding special needs passenger that have compounded the situations as more board and disembark on each trip.
Just one passenger requiring special attention can delay the bus by at least 5 minutes.
Just this afternoon I hit a 27 minute delay as I boarded three special requirement passengers AND two parents with stroller - the two seater types.

We were so far behind that my follower (the next bus on the schedule) was behind me picking up all the customers I could no longer fit on the bus.

Keep in mind that I'm paid by the minute.
I'm on the clock until I finish the route, whether that takes the scheduled amount of time or up to 10 hours of driving time a day.
The printed schedule is a courtesy to YOU, the passenger.
If I'm unable to keep that schedule while I'm your Driver, you can bet that there is either killer traffic jams, or the bus is so full/packed that there are arms and legs hanging out windows and folks are standing in their seats.

Or there are customers who require more time and schedules are not part of their concern.

My point of posting this is not to single out any group of passengers about scheduling or how much I'm paid to take care of all of the passengers.
As I've pointed out, I'm paid to complete the route, no matter whether I spend all my DOT time (10 hours) with one customer or 1000 customers in only 8 hours.
And the schedule is only third on my list of priorities: the first being safety, then customer service, then the schedule.
I will stop the bus, break out my trailblazer and look at all the routes I have to make sure you catch the right bus and get to your destination before I drop you off at the wrong street or take you to Golden when you needed to go to Aurora!
I will stop the bus and use every restraint on the bus to make certain you are strapped in like a mummy and feel safe and secure before I move the bus again.
That's customer service.

No, my point in posting this was that the Access-a-Ride side of the house is a social program that is set aside solely to support the special needs of the passenger who has those needs.
The other side of the RTD house is where I work, where folks spend 10 seconds boarding the bus and finding their seats before I hit the gas pedal and speed off to the next stop, keeping the schedule to the second in order to make every body's connections and get y'all to your destinations on time.

We shouldn't be blending the two services & passenger load but as we cut back services, we need to serve a wider variety of customer than we've been used to.

I'm sorry to the passengers who've boarded my bus, requiring extra attention getting ready for transport - sorry for the rude and vulgar comments, for the eye rolls, for the loud heavy sighs and for the screams of frustration  from the other passengers.
And to you other passengers, I'm sorry for the extreme delays and for the frustration - but for those of you who have been both helpful and patient, I thank you.
I try to bust my rump and go as quickly as I'm able.
I try to accommodate everybody with equal thoroughness, compassion, consideration and care.

To all of my passenger, whether abled-bodied, I thank you for your patronage and your patience - I'm sorry for the rest.
I'll do my best and I appreciate your help to those ends.

To you folks who've been frustrated to the point of your heads spinning off and exploding I suggest you call your Regents, your Representatives and even RTD directly.
Just don't call the 303-299-6000 line.
Contact officials directly - for example, contact Phil Washington.
I've personally met him and he honestly cares what you think (not that others don't but I can vouch for Mr. Washington's sincerity)

To everybody, please try to enjoy The Ride.
Remember, I'm your Driver and I'm the guy who has to juggle both those who are frustrated and those at whom they are frustrated.
If you don't see me snapping at everybody, if you don't see my cussing and swearing - then please follow my lead.
Consider it an adventure, a challenge - an opportunity.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Take a deep breath & relax, Find your seats - Let's Roll!"