Maybe not all that interesting, but it is the culmination of something I have been working on for many months.
Back in summer my landlord told me about the transit company he works for, and suggested I apply to work there. Driving a bus didn’t seem that glamorous, but the pay/benefits were definitely good and there were other directions I could take the job beyond just chauffering people around. So I applied, and the process was very, very slow. I’m currently training right now, already have my class B permit but I’m a little impatient because up until Thursday all the stuff we have done is ‘textbook’ type material.
However, given how strict they are (late twice during training and you’re fired, get less than a “B+” on the exams and you could drop out as well) I’m doing great so far, and really determined to carry it through. I’m looking foward to actually driving because then I can actually apply those skills, and practice on some cones before i pulverize a curb trying to make a right turn in a huge vehicle
Surprisingly, operating a bus is a very technical process. I know I’m making it sound more elaborate than it is, but talking to people I know in the field, there is a bit to it. This particular company is very serious about minimizing accidents, to the point that while they fall behind in ‘on time’ ratings, they have one of the lowest accident rates in the country.
Everything from starting the bus up in the mornings, making turns, or ‘What to do in situation X’ has a process that we get in a classroom-type lecture, with a ‘textbook’ which we have to study. So not only do we have to drive properly, we also have to demonstrate what we know and show we are paying attention in training by passing weekly exams. 11 weeks of this might sound like a lot, but we do get paid for it and collect benefits.
I can’t remember where Mr. BusGuy lives. Since the breakroom has computers/internet, I guess I’ll keep an eye out for anyone in uniform reading the SDMB
Is this city transit, or rental/event buses? I don’t think I could ever learn to drive a bus; I have bad (read: non-existent) depth perception, and after nearly a decade with the same car, I still have issues with the dimensions of it (no accidents, I just have to be really careful and take things slow in turns or parking). I have trouble imagining swinging one of those huge buses around a curb! The bus route I take home here in Montreal takes a couple of tight corners onto very narrow streets… I’m always impressed that the driver doesn’t destroy the cars that are invariably parked near the corner!
Will they be teaching you the essentials of transit operation like how to snap the doors shut and mash the gas at just the last moment when someone’s running to catch the bus? SF Muni operators are very skilled at this.
But seriously… I’m well impressed by anyone that can thread a 40-foot long vehicle through traffic and not even scratch the surroundings. I bow before those that can snake a 60-foot articulated coach through downtown.
Mr Bus Guy is in Illinois, so not much chance of meeting him in the breakroom.
Yeah its the VTA. I got to drive today! Actually, it was pretty funny- We got in groups, each lead by an instructor (with about 8 groups total) hopped in the coaches and drove around in the bus yard.
Now this particular bus yard is exactly what it sounds like- a big parking lot for busses. In addition to parked busses, there are also maintenance vehicles driving around, operators walking to their coaches, coaches pulling in at the end of their runs and also coaches pulling out to go start runs. Then you have 8 busses being operated by people who have never driven busses before. Its no surprise the other staff in the yard gave us a wide berth
Granted everyone was guided by an instructor, and nobody was going too fast, but it was both fun and a little nerve-wracking at the same time. There were busses making wobbly turns, accelerating/braking too suddenly, people not signaling/signaling in the wrong direction, and one guy killed a traffic cone to boot. Granted we weren’t graded on any of this, and nobody hit anything else. Overall it was a lot of fun.
A major part of the maneuvers pedestrians see a transit bus handle are the culmination of both training and plenty of practice. The vehicle, in a sense becomes an extension of their own bodies and they get a very good idea of how much ‘room’ they have. I’m not yet ready for making those bad-ass turns but with enough practice, I will be.
You may feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear, but just take the wheel and drive. Whatever tomorrow brings, you’ll be there, with open arms and open eyes. Yeah.
The bus driver doing the morning run was in training today; I thought of you! I do believe you are a fair bit younger than this man was, but you could tell he was totally happy and proud of himself! A car got in his way a little as he pulled up to the stop, and he squeezed that bus through the space without hitting the curb - he had a huge grin on his face. Seeing as how that curb gets his regularly by the experienced bus drivers… well, he deserved the congrats his trainer gave him!
