Bus Operators

Bus drivers, or "operators" as the internal announcements call them ("if you see anything suspicious, please notify your bus operator immediately"), come in all different shapes, sizes, and personalities.

The MTA switches out drivers periodically - every couple of months or so - so there's always someone new. The current batch of drivers I encounter every day is a quirky one.

One is a rather gruff African American man. He was the daily driver on the 7AM #48 last fall, but now drives that bus only a few days a week. He seems somewhat impatient with boarding passengers, shouting, "step up!" to the ones waiting behind the person currently at the fare box. He also shouts at people who, after boarding, hang around the rear doors. "Step out the back door!" he admonishes, a statement that is somewhat confusing. Some people, I'm sure, think he wants them to exit, but actually he wants them to stand clear of the doors. You see, there's a sign at the front of the bus that states passengers must stand behind the yellow line. The yellow line at the front of the bus is about level with the back of the driver's seat. However, the line at the back is in different places, depending on the style of bus. In older models with stairs, the line is at the edge of the top step, however, in the new ground-level buses, the line is at the door. So if this driver's concern is to keep people behind the yellow line, he doesn't have to worry as much when driving a new bus. Regardless, he yells anyway.

The driver who shares his route in the morning is a grumbly 50-something Caucasian man who yawns loudly and stretches at red lights, and talks to himself the rest of the time. He doesn't seem dangerous, but he does seem a little crazy.

While bus operators on the morning end of things seem to be consistent, I never know who I'm going to get in the afternoon, when buses are usually late or occasionally do not come at all. The majority of time, however, there's one of two African American women. One I call "The Avoider" because she tries her best not to pick up passengers. The Avoider, once she closes her doors and pulls away from the corner, will not allow other passengers to board, even if she is waiting at a light and the passenger wannabe is standing in the street, banging on the closed door. There have been times when I've trotted to the bus and had the doors close in my face because I was not already on the bus stop during the 10 seconds she had the doors open. I'm usually very polite, saying "hello," "good morning," "thank you," whatever to the operators, but The Avoider gets no such niceties from me; however, the times she's left me on the corner earned her a barrage of well-deserved expletives.

During the school year, the bus gets very crowded with standing passengers and most of the time there are also dozens of people waiting on the bus stops. The Avoider, once she sees a crowd, will not stop for them. If there are passengers who wish to deboard on a crowded corner, she will pull over across the street from the designated stop and allow them to get off, but she will not allow additional passengers to come onto the vehicle.

The other afternoon driver I encounter most regularly is exactly the opposite. If there are 65 people on the bus, packed cheek to jowl, she will attempt to pick up another 10 or more passengers, sometimes sitting through several light changes until the passengers already on the bus have filled every inch of floor space in order to allow the new people on.

I don't think it's right for people to be made so uncomfortable. There should be more buses in the early morning and in the afternoon during the school year, but I suppose that's too hard for the MTA to figure out.

Posted by theminx on MTA Diaries.

New Buses

While I can appreciate the newest buses on the line for their "green" quality, I'm not all that crazy about them, comfort-wise. The seats are arranged farther apart from one another, which makes for fewer seats on the bus (but no fewer passengers - more folks must stand). While this is fine for the really fat fatties (and they are legion), for me, there's entirely too much room between my knees and the seat in front of me, leaving me clinging for dear life to my bags lest they slip off onto the filthy floor.

The seats themselves, although placed farther apart to accommodate gigantic guts and the occasional very tall person, somehow feel narrower. Rather than actually being smaller, I think the seats have a new un-ergonomic curve, which make them somewhat uncomfortable for those of us who are wide of ass. They may be higher off the ground as well, as I can't quite put my feet flat on the ground. After an hour ride, one of my legs has usually fallen asleep.

The windows no longer open sideways; instead, there's a transom window at the top, which requires passengers to stand before opening them, preferably with the help of the passenger seated in front or behind (the handles are spaced quite a distance apart). Also preferably when the bus is not moving, which leads to falling, sometimes on me.

The last several models of bus have had baseboard heat, creating a 4" thick bump protruding from the inside wall of the bus at about ankle level and taking up valuable leg room. When the heat is on, it's a bit like riding a motorcycle in shorts. I'm surprised I don't have a permanent burn mark on my right ankle (as I normally prefer sitting on the right side of the bus). The bus drivers sit in isolation in the front and can't really tell what the temperature is like for the passengers; occasionally this leads to having the heat on when it's unnecessary (as on recent mornings). Heat on + inability to open windows = uncomfortable passengers.

Woe is me when I start having hot flashes. By that time, the whole fleet will probably be new. :(

Posted by theminx on MTA Diaries.