The Bolder Boulder 2012 & Memorial Day.

The Bolder Boulder 2012 & Memorial Day.

I commented about the Bolder Boulder a couple of years ago - the organization was some of the worst I'd ever seen.
From construction during the event that clogged the streets to traffic jams that had folks jumping off the buses far from the starting line and running to the race!

Last year they moved the Starting Line and this year the city of Boulder & RTD coordinated one of the best events yet.
My hat's off to the planners.
The traffic was nearly nonexistent.

In 2010, it took so long to get around the "loop" of the city that there were children and grandchildren being born on the buses (lol - not really, c'mon!)
This year I could loop the city in just a few minutes.
I saw danged near EVERY Driver I know working the event and I think RTD had every single bus available in Boulder.

In 2010 when I was parked (Layover) between the start and finish of the race, waiting to take folks back to their vehicles, I sat for HOURS.
This year it was a slow crawl and I ended up spending only about twenty minutes creeping my way back to the front of the line and back into circulation and back onto the loop, picking runners up and returning them to their vehicles.

The taxpayer got their money's worth as I drove for more than 8.5 of the 9 hours I was "on the clock" this year.

Runners/Passengers voiced their thrill & joy over and over all morning long when they got on the bus quickly and were whisked around the loop in almost zero traffic to the Starting Line.
And because traffic was so minimal, buses/Drivers were able to move as we know how, by leap frogging each other at stops.
One bus stops to pick runners up and the other buses leap frog around that bus to the next stop and the buses behind that one leap frog around him, etc.
The conveyor belt moves smoothly and continuously.
AND folks waiting at the stops only had to wait a minute or two for the next bus to arrive.
AND the city buses like the Skip, Bolt, etc were able to stay on schedule and pick up their passengers so that nobody got behind schedule.

I really have nothing but good things to say about this years record race.
More than 51,000 people ran this year.
At least 93% of them finished the race.
Boulder City planners and RTD coordinated and orchestrated everything perfectly.
If there were issues and problems (challenges) I didn't see them.
That's how smoothly everything went and how the folks running the show responded and corrected any issues that arose.

Thank you RTD, thank you Boulder, and thank YOU the passenger/runner for coming this year and breaking records.

Another great year, another great run and another great event.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, find your seats, 3 Cheers for Boulder - Let's Roll!"

Treat Her Like A Prostitute!

Good Ol' Slick Rick...


On occasion I'm allowed to drive routes that go West over a variety of stops.
If I'm on the 38 I get to stop at Federal, Irving, Lowell & Perry.
If I'm on the 44 I get to stop at Federal, Hooker, Julian, Lowell then Perry.

I'm the kinda Driver who likes to call out every stop as we leave the current stop so the Passengers know what's coming next and have time to decide whether they want off.
But on the 44, I almost always skip calling out Hooker street.

The one time I called it out, on one of my first trips on the 44 I just happened to have boarded at Federal, a few pretty young Ladies who were laughing and joking with me.
As they sat down and I pulled out of the stop, I called out, "Hooker!"

The gals got quiet, serious and gasped as one, "Excuse Me!?"

I could have avoided it with, "The Next Stop Is, Hooker!"

Since then, I've simply fallen silent since I rarely have folks disembark at the stop anyway.

The other day I was heading East and around Kipling I picked up a spry older Lady who asked for the lift (she had a full load of luggage)
While she was coming up I asked her where she'd like to go today.
I always ask so that I can watch for the stop and stop in such a way that I can deploy the lift without issue.

She looked at me and gave me the, "Wait a minute" finger.
o_O

As she got on the bus, she approached my ear and whispered, "I'm going to Hooker!"
"I happen to know where that is," I laughed.
"I don't like saying that word out loud," she quietly laughs back.

She sat beside me so as we approached Hooker I simply called out, "Next stop, the street that won't be named!"
We all had a good giggle then moved along.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Watch out for Hooker, Find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Keep On Testing

Hola Folks!

I while back I mentioned the new Smart Card that's a coming.
More and more of you are noticing all the new consoles and card readers on our buses.

I've already described it pretty completely in a previous post and I'm pretty sure I linked y'all to the RTD page ------ CLICK HERE  ------

So click those links again.
If you have any questions, we're told we can direct you to call them at:
303-299-CARD.

Bottom line is that we are aiming at the goal of being 90% cashless by the end of next year.
Obviously someone will always have cash to pay his fare.

But we're consolidating all of the Eco, school/college and monthly discount passes onto one card.
No more tickets or transfers (well, if you use cash you'll get a transfer)

If you have a card meant to be used on RTD, you'll eventually be issued a Smart Card that will replace what you're using now.
No more confusion over whether you can use a transfer coming back or whether your transfer lasts long enough.
No more "The Driver" forgot to give me a transfer or losing your transfers.
No more passing monthly passes or transfers back to your friends about to board behind you or handing them out the windows.
No more not having enough change or trying to sneak on with a discount pass but not having the proof of discount.

That card reader will blare very loudly when you try to cheat the system, and everybody else on the bus, including the fare inspector sitting right there will know.

So read up, ask your Drivers for more information.
We all know what's coming and what that card will do.
Or call the number: 303-299-CARD

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Toss your cash and get a Smart Card, Find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Gimme All Your Money...

All your hugs and kisses too...

So it turns out (I missed this reading The Contract) that the union extorted a profit sharing entitlement from RTD, but less surprising is that RTD doesn't and won't ever make a profit.
RTD can only spend what it receives from the taxpayer, from the ads on vehicles and from the fare boxes.
When those revenue sources atrophy we have to cut back operations as we saw at the beginning of this year.
There are no profits or shareholders to go to in order to fill in the gaps.
That's like expecting the Fire department or police to make a profit.
Just can't and won't happen.
So why does the union have a profit sharing entitlement program in place?
More liberal greed of course.
But they used 2008 numbers to force a .4% increase from then to now in revenue in order to pay thousands of employees $750!
That's money that could have been used to keep the buses cleaned or repaired or even running one hour longer when you are getting off or going to work.
One Senior Driver told me it is a ploy to get our union fees paid each year.
Fees the union has increased to just this side of a grand each year.

Again I ask, "Why do we have a profit sharing entitlement program when our employer doesn't make a profit and why do you, the tax payer slash customer support this entitlement?"

As Always, "Welcome Aboard, Pay our union fees, Find your seats, Let's Roll!"

Hit The Road Jack!

I got more than a few emails today asking why I was calling out that Driver in my previous post - why I was being so negative.
I wasn't being negative, I was making a point and I forgot to finish, sorry.
But I did call that driver out because that driver is an embarrassment to RTD, to the rest of us Drivers.

That driver is not from the privates, where you expect crappy behavior and service.
That driver is supposed to be one of us, one of the good guys.

And I mentioned that driver has been here a crap load of years.
There are a bunch of drivers like that driver:
Inconsiderate, sloppy, dirty and not team players.
Well, I take that back because if you're a unionist, an entitleist then you are the team for which these drivers play!

That's because in the real world, at normal companies these drivers (employees) would have been fired almost immediately.
But the union forces RTD to keep crappy employees like this.
And these drivers are so far up the food chain, having been here (survived) for years and years, through good and bad - that they feel like nothing can touch them, they are invincible.
And to tell you the truth, they are!

They get up to something like ten "occurrences" before they get fired.
Per year!
Meaning as the first occurrence expires and disappears from their records, they have another get out of jail free card.
And the union defends them to the bitter end.
And these older drivers are hard core solid through and through union supporters.
So the union keeps them really close.

Another really cushy job is what's called the loop extra.
A driver pulls out an extra bus, not on any route or schedule and he sits at a station and waits.
Waits up to 10 hours for a call to come that he needs to take the bus to another driver whose bus has broken down.
Then the loop extra sits with the broken bus until it either gets fixed or towed back to the garage.
And if that driver still has time, he pulls out another bus and goes and sits.
Many of these drivers brag about how they go to sleep during their shifts and can sit for usually the whole shift without having to move.
These runs are usually sucked up by the drivers with the most seniority and disappear quickly.

So when a lowly Driver like me has his bus break down and needs to get a new bus delivered by the loop extras, you'd expect that loop extra had the bus all ready - you know, team work and giving me the best possible advantage and chance to get ahead, back on schedule and to be successful.
Meaning that the bus would be cleaned, have all the needed supplies, windows & mirrors cleaned and clear and depending on the weather, cooled or heated up.

But without exception (in my experience) the buses have zilch...
No supplies, you can barely see out the windows AND the buses smell like nasty musty sweat from the driver being asleep inside, no deodorant (he knows he doesn't have to deal with the public so he doesn't give a crap and probably didn't even shower by the smell of it!) and smells like he soiled his underwear (please God let him have underwear on so I'm not sitting in his bare butt nasty sweat/feces...)

And they don't care.
No team work.
They are senior drivers, the union protects them and they can survive unscathed - any complaints from either customers or co-workers.
In fact, they are rubber and we are glue - complaints bounce off them and stick to us!
We get transferred to far away districts such as Boulder or East Metro and they survive to terrorize more co-workers and customers...

I've said this many times and will probably say it many more.
The union is VERY bad for RTD, for Drivers and for YOU - the customer/passenger.
They allow these entitleists to hang around like bad farts that you just can't shake.

LOL, that's another story.
Remind me to tell you about the passenger who asked me if he could hop off the bus for a minute - out of respect for the other passengers and me - so that he can "flatulate" and air out.
He did but he brought it back with him and we all thought we would die, even with all the windows open and me speeding, trying to get the wind blowing through!
LOL - there really is a devil and it lives in that guy's booty...

Ok, rants over for now.

As Always, "Welcome Aboard, Find your seats, Don't fart on the bus - Let's Roll!"

70 Bottles of Beer on the Wall...

Ok, so it's not bottles of beer on the wall - it's 70 days in this new vote.
Actually we've knocked three down by driving around so now there are only 67 left.

My bad, sorry - a "vote" is what we're taught to call each of the three schedule cycles that happen each year.
No voting or biding involved but rather than call them the Winter, Summer and Fall Schedules we're taught to call them votes!
But I've digressed...
This current vote started on Sunday and I've relieved my current driver enough now to be counting down the days left in what is - thank God - the shortest vote.
The driver is very unpleasant, grumpy, dirty, inconsiderate and from what I can tell (but I pray I'm wrong) a racist!
I've always caught the buses I relieve, early so that I can ride the route, feel the bus, talk to the driver, and check for detours not listed in our headquarters.
This driver has already told me not to ride his/her bus and I can't argue nor want to just out of fear and disgust!
Listening to the driver's interactions with some of the passengers made me both cringe and want to cry.
And I'm fearful because this is a very senior driver who reminds the passengers constantly of the very long term of service, as if that justifies the behaviour.
But that seniority causes me not to be able to complain about anything and if I did, the union would protect that senior and transfer me to Boulder if not fire me for the "accusations! "
And many of the passengers loved this driver!
I heard lots of thank yous, you're wonderfuls, etc but of course that came from those the driver showed favourtism towards.

So for now I hold my tongue, take a different bus and count the remaining days!

As Always, "Welcome Aboard, Find your seats, 67 Days to go - Let's Roll!"

Teach A Man To Fish...

Speaking of passengers with special needs...

Did you know that out in the real world of free market capitalism, where you pay for that which you need, that passengers with special needs can call Access-a-Ride and get the attention they require?
Their fares run from $4.50 to $26.00 (One Way)

But in this age of entitlement, forget the real world and adopt socialism.
Where a man is forced to pay for an entitlement that he won't use, so that somebody else may use the entitlement for which he won't pay!

Rather than pay $4.50 each way, folks with Access-a-Ride cards hop on RTD buses for FREE, and still get far more attention than paying customers - at the cost of the paying customer by means of time and money.

When taxes are raised to pay for RTD and the fares are raised...keep in mind who is driving those raises:

It's the folks who demand discounts for various reasons, above and beyond the deserving and those in need.
It's the folks who refuse to pay their fares, who jump on with expired or invalid transfers, who buy discounted monthly passes but don't actually qualify then tell the Driver that their drug dealers boarding with them are the "Care Givers" or "companions" so they don't have to pay their fares either: those who board the bus pretending not to speak English or those who simply ignore the Driver and don't pay for their 98 kids who are boarding with them, and those who would rather ride for free at the expense of the Tax Payer, than pay for the actual service from Access-a-Ride.

These are they who steal from your pockets, from your kids mouths, from your family finances and paychecks, just so that they don't have to pay their fair Fares!
These are the reasons your rates are rising and your taxes are climbing.

Whether it's getting a free or discounted ride on the bus or a free or discounted visit to the doctor - it is those who feel entitled to your income who want you to pay more and more for their lifestyle choices.

I board and service at least 25% of my passengers each day who have Access-a-Ride cards.
99% of those (almost all of them) simply walk on the bus, show me their passes then walk off.
No idea on God's green Earth why they have that pass but they don't have to pay because of it.
On Access-A-Ride they'd be paying twice as much as you do on RTD but they don't want to pay, they want you to pay for them.
In fact, many of these passengers have "companions" with them - for who knows what reasons, I'm not allowed or supposed to ask or care - I simply allow them all to board without paying.

Because it is "politically correct" and it would be offensive to ask.

I truly am sorry for what seems to be an insensitive rant.
I truly believe that there are plenty of deserving and "in need" passengers who ride Access-a-Ride and for all I know, 100% of these folks who board my buses are deserving and in need of the service.

I just found it the perfect illustration of socialism, of the entitlement mindset that says that when given the option to carry their own weight, folks will make the choice of the "free" service that causes those who don't even use the service to support those who do use it.

We all know another tax hike and fare increase is coming.
And now we know just one more reason why.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Take responsibility and Pay your danged Fare, Find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Do You Require Assistance With Your Restraints?

If you hop on the Bus with a mobility device, usually some type or variation of a wheeled chair, Drivers are required to ask if you need assistance with securing yourself - with your seat belts/restraints.

Rarely has anybody wanted my help, in my personal experience.
It's been needed enough that I'm kept in good practice with the restraint systems but not more than a once a day occurrence.

Recently I've come to learn that it's not just a job requirement but a personal & professional liability when I'm asked to restrain a passenger.

I've had more than a few passengers respond to my question with "yes please," in the past few weeks.
And more than a few of those have tried to curtail my efforts.
"You don't need the back/front/side (etc) - that one side/back/front will be plenty."
"Oh Lord, you've made that very tight, my chair can't move at all, you can loosen it up a hair?"

Oh heck no!
You've made me personally responsible (beyond the ordinary passenger's normal arrangement) for your security and safety.
You're lucky I don't break out tow ropes, wenches, welding rods, bungee cords and duct tape!

If you ask for my personal help and you slide around and injure yourself during the ride, I may not have done my job correctly or well enough.
If you ask for my help providing for your safety - be prepared for my own peace of mind that you're safe and that my job is going to be there after you leave the bus - safely...

I already take my job/responsibility as a Driver very seriously.
I am as safe as I'm able to be, careful, aware and vigilant while I'm transporting you - the passenger - to your destination.
You count on me to get you there in one piece, both safely and uneventfully.

Some of you go that extra step and ask me to provide for your safety in an unconventional seat.
So I need to take extra ordinary measures to ensure your safety.

That's a huge responsibility.
Again - don't scream when I break out the bright yellow & orange tie down straps and start strapping you in!
LOL

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Find your seats, Let me duct tape you in  - Let's Roll!"

Dave's Not Home, Man!

Most of you may not know this, or care but despite the  fact that marijuana use, sales, distribution, etc is legal in Colorado, state law cannot supersede Federal law and Federal law still views dope use, possession, sales, distribution, growth, etc - as illegal.

We've seen a boat load of growers and distributors in both California and Colorado busted by Federal agents on many occasions in recent years.

Keep that in mind if you're going to get on a Bus here in Denver.
Buses are governed by Federal regulation and laws.
It was explained to me that getting on the bus with dope - even as little as a big fat joint - can be classified as trafficking.
I've personally seen more than a few kiddos roll fatties and sell them to other passengers on the Mall Shuttles and buses for cash on the spot.
There's yet another Federal crime.

Will every passenger who commits these crimes be prosecuted?
Odds are, not even close.
Is it guaranteed that if you're caught doing these things on the bus, you'll be charged with Federal crimes?
Nope...but why take the chance?
We play the lotto and the chances are far slimmer that we'll win that lottery.
Just to put the "risk" into perspective.

It's a $2.25 ride that at most lasts two hours.
Why risk Federal fines & prison times?

Recently there was a passenger who left his backpack on the bus with around a pound of dope, a huge mayo jar packed with buds, a grip of cash and his cell phone with not only all of his information but with all of his friends names, numbers and his business associates names & numbers.

He was gone for only 20 minutes but us Drivers are trained to spot articles that are left behind and to either turn them into Lost & Found or in this case, call authorities.
The passenger was a bit shocked and freaked when he'd heard that his bag had already been found and turned in.
I can imagine that wait while he tried to decide whether to go home and wait for the authorities to come find him...that would SUCK!

Anywho...keep all that stuff at home or at work but just off the bus.

Less paperwork for your Drivers.
Less stress for you and the other passengers while enduring that ride to your destinations.
Less crime on the bus.
Less chance of you getting caught and busted.

As Always, "Welcome aboard, Ditch the Dope, Find your seats - Let's Roll!"

Pull My Finger?

So I am tooling down the road, picking up my passengers when two guys board, obviously high on drugs.
So high that many of the other passengers complained and joked that they were all getting contact highs!

One of the drug addicts screams to the other, "Dude, smell my fingers!"
To which there was a collective EWWWW on the bus.
The druggie said,"Dudes, it's Alabama kush..."
Which I can only assume is the name of whatever designer drug he'd been smoking.

But I didn't skip a beat and had to jump through the open door he'd presented and scratched my butt as I said,"Dude, Italian toosh!"
I know it was inappropriate but...

The whole bus exploded with laughter and I felt satisfied that we'd defused some situation.

But I gotta mention that breathing those fumes, breathing in those toxic drug fumes in a closed environment for over an hour was not only seriously offensive to me and the sober passengers but could not have been good for our health!


As Always, "Welcome Aboard, find your seats, extinguish your dope and Let's Roll!"