There are these things, they are called bus stops. If the bus stops to let someone off at one of these, and it is a block away from your home, you sould get off. By allowing those people to leave, the bus to start moving, and THEN pressing “Stop Requested” you are being a fucking asshole. Some of us would like to get home at a decent hour, and are willing to walk to the BUS STOP for the sake of others. I don’t get up in the morning and wait for the transit bus to pull up to my dorm room; you should be just as considerate.
One time a portion of the metro was closed on Sundays for a few weeks for repair work. They set up a bus service to fill in for it, stopping at each metro station. So one day I was riding it to go to a ritual across town. After the bus left Berri metro, this guy rang the bell, and then got furious - like, screaming in rage - at the driver for not letting him off halfway between Berri and Beaudry metro. I don’t think he quite grasped the concept of SUBSTITUTING THE BUS FOR THE METRO! What an ass, or a moron, or both.
the bus driver actually stops at places that aren’t bus stops, nwr? here the “stop requested” cord is pulled to indicate that you wish to get off at the next marked stop. they never stop in between.
I know I’ve bitched about this before, but the Houston bus system tends to have problems with construction. I live in an area that is affected rather heavily by construction, and the drivers WILL NOT stop between stops, only at stops. It’s just not safe to do otherwise. Of course, mud puddles and missing sidewalks and shoulders make it unsafe.
So, to the wankers who think the drivers are happy to stop wherever, you deserve the sprained ankles and wet pants you’ll get!
Perhaps they have medical problems? Perhaps it’s really hot out, and they don’t want to walk a couple blocks with a huge 25 pound backpack full of books?
well, gee, then we should drive the bus right up to their doorstep. i mean, sure other people are in a hurry to get home, too, but we could detour three or four blocks to deliver you to your front door.
there are busstops for a reason. bus drivers can’t stop at every single corner on the route, and it’s unreasonable to ask them to do so. if you really can’t walk from the stop to your house, i know that metro offers a special taxi-like service for the handicapped. use it.
**Poster A: Is it really going to kill you to walk a few extra steps?
Poster B: Is it really going to kill you to wait five minutes?**
Repeat as necessary, with increasing invective.
Isn’t the problem really with the bus drivers who are stopping for these people every few feet? I don’t know how the system there works, but, as has been mentioned, in most transit systems the bus only stops at marked stops.
well around here there is a bus stop every few blocks. but i’ve seen people try to get bus driver’s to let them off in between intersections, in the middle of intersections (when the bus is waiting to make a left-hand turn), when we’re about to enter the freeway (yeah, let’s stop right in front of the on-ramp to let you out), etc.
and it’s not a matter of waiting an extra five minutes. if the bus driver stopped everytime someone wanted to get off where there isn’t a stop, it would take hours to get home. i know that on my route, when it’s busy and the driver has to stop at every stop, it takes longer to ride the bus than it would have taken to walk.
as i said before, there are services that will drop you off in your frickin’ driveway. metro has a door-to-door service here, other cities have taxis. or you can get someone to give you a ride. what you should not do is delay dozens of other people by insisting that rules do not apply to you and requesting to be let off someplace that is not a bus stop.
If the stops are too few and far between, I’d say that is also the problem of the bus service. Of course there should also be some room for judgement. Back when I lived in a place where one could reasonably take the bus, drivers would regularly stop at unmarked stops for the elderly and handicapped, but would otherwise either announce that they were stopping at he next marked stop, or just do it.
I also recognise that some people have disabilities that are not visible. Of necessity, these people would have to let the driver know.
There has to be a balance. If the bus stops too often, nobody will be happy with the service. If the stops require too much walking, many people will be dissatisfied. If the bus doesn’t have marked stops every few blocks, that seems like something they’ve got to change.
i could agree with that. perhaps they should write the bus service and have a new stop put up? if it’s, say, six blocks between stops, that could be a huge hassle, and i’m sure the bus service wouldn’t mind putting up a little sign to make another stop.
actually, i’ve never seen anyone actually ask them to detour, just stop places that are very much not bus stops. the detour thing was hyperbole, and i’m very sorry if i wasn’t clear.
Same where I live. You press the buzzer, the driver stops at the next stop. If you buzz as soon as the bus leaves a stop, you’re indicating that you want the next stop.
An occasional problem is that you will sometimes have a driver who does not know the stops. You buzz, he breezes right past the stop. I don’t know what this is about, unless they just don’t want to admit that they don’t know where the next stop is. I wish they’d wise up to the fact that the regular passengers (which most riders are) do know the stops.
nwr, i would call the bus service and complain about it. what’s the point of even having bus stops if they’re just going to stop anywhere they damn well please?
Drivers stopping to let people off where there isn’t a stop!? I have trouble grasping such a thing. As I said, here, not only do the drivers not do such things, it’s sometimes hard to get them to stop at the actual stops.
Everyone who is reading this, please weigh in.
Which of these these problems is common with the bus company in your area? Drivers stopping where there is no stop? Drivers who refuse to stop at some of the seldom-requested stops? Neither problem? Both problems?
as i said, there are bus stops pretty much every couple of blocks where i live. they are spread out more farther out from the city, and, obviously are mainly on the busier roads as compared to inside of neighborhoods, but i’ve never had a problem with there being no bus stop to get where i need to go. well… except for one four or five block stretch of westheimer, but that’s about it.
the bus drivers almost never stop if there isn’t a stop, and they rarely miss a stop if you’ve pulled the cord (unless you pull it at the absolute last second, then they think you want the next stop). now and again i will get irritated by a bus driver blowing past my stop when i’m waiting to be picked up. if you aren’t standing at the curb looking right at them, they think you want a different bus.