Yard Starter

When we start our day, we pass by the receiver, sign in for our coach, and then see the yard-starter if we have no coach assigned to us. The receiver has our bundle, called a paddle, which includes our run’s timetable with scheduled checkpoints, books of transfers, defect card, and any bulletins we need be aware of such as permanent or temporary bus stop changes, construction alerts, lane or street detours, or battery power re-routes.

These are important jobs at Muni. The job duties require personality management, if such a thing is possible. The receiver and yard- starter must juggle several balls without dropping them, and can get pressure from any one of a number of sources: the operator, the shop, dispatch, or central control, just to name a few. And all of this bombardment comes with getting a bus in to revenue service, on time and without incident. As a driver, I have the benefit of being captain of the ship, so to speak, and rarely have contact with my coworkers while in the cockpit, moving down the street. The only time we get to see each other is when we get a coach in the morning, or when we pull-in.

Sometimes we need to go to another barn on the weekend and operate a motorcoach as a shuttle around a special event such as a street fair, parade, or demonstration. San Francisco must be number one in street events and reroutes. If there is anything that belies The city that knows how, it is transit flexibility to make changes to a line that will engage extra crowds and capacity. We plan our day based upon where we start and finish, and how long it will take to get home from a relief point. It makes for never a dull moment and its why I love being a bus driver in San Francisco.

Construction re-routes and detours are currently high on the list for choice of equipment. With sewer and water line reconstruction we may need diesel buses because the wires are turned off, or we have to maneuver in to opposite lanes where our poles won’t reach. The 49 line has been moved to a motor-coach division due to major construction on Van Ness Avenue. This dig will continue for several years and reduce traffic to a single lane in each direction.

The receiver has our paddles laid out on a table in what is called the receiver’s area, and if our paddle is missing, it means we have to see the dispatcher for mail about a status upgrade in our training or medical card. If we need a day off or a change in an upcoming schedule, we also see the dispatcher to fill out one of several forms to modify our detail. The dispatcher’s office is generally not the place to be a victim or crybaby. Get in, get out, and wait for the words, “I’ll pay you for time.” or “You’re on the sick book.” or “You got your one day vacation.” Yes. And be gone.

If my paddle is missing in the receiver’s office, it is because I have mail. These love letters contain a nice laundry list of rules violations that we must atone for in a conference or hearing to be assigned a penalty such as unpaid time off. With this comes the decision to open the letter when signing for it, or to wait until after the day is over. I prefer to open my mail after my day is over. I appreciate the mercy of central control calling me to see the dispatcher near the end of my day and not the first thing! Sometimes I conveniently forget that they called and I have mail waiting. The tone of voice of the receiver in the morning, or of central control over the air can sometimes be telling, or it can be confounding. When I don’t have a clue about what it could be, I can’t stand the suspense. I have to open the letter some time later in the day. Ouch. Whoops. Really?

The receivers’ area, on the other hand, is where the latest really bad joke can be told, or retold, or modified, or extended, or made in to a complete lie. The art, of course, being in how realistic the story can seem, and how far you can string them along until it falls apart. Reading mail about a passenger complaint or other such violation can be a good release. The thing is, with Muni, the truth is actually far more interesting than anything anyone could ever make up! If you can’t get ‘em rolling in the receiver’s area, then good luck in rolling down Mission for the next nine or ten hours! Don’t worry, something worthy of next day’s receiver’s room banter will probably come up!

If on the extra board, runs are assigned daily, and can be checked after 2:30 p.m. in the room where the schedule detail is posted. Comparing cap number seniority to assigned runs can also add to drama. We then sign on our run on the operator’s sign-in sheet, and look for the coach assigned to our run on the track assignment, and note the number down on our paddle. Sometimes, the words, See the yard-starter are on the sign-in sheet, and we have to go down to the tower to find out what coach number we are to be assigned. Rather than going out in the yard with the sinking feeling of re- enacting a scene from Maze Runner, getting a new coach is a piece of cake. All the older trolleys were finally removed from the yard in preparation for the New Flyer trolleys, which are undergoing testing to be augmented on the 30 Stockton and 5 Fulton lines.

In the tower, we state our run and line and ask for a coach. Sometimes we get to go on a walk with the yard-starter and find a coach. This is often necessary at Potrero, as coaches are coming and going continuously. I have had the unique coming or going vibe as I would pull-in at 2:44 a.m. from the 14 Mission, and I see the yard-starter and receiver starting their day getting ready for the next shift of early day run operators. Are you coming or going? is perhaps the number one question I get asked.

I have not needed to purchase much in the way of civilian clothing, as I wear my uniform as a part of my body, up to 15 hours a day! Just like our trolleys, we are “in service” most of our waking life! Go up to any Muni operator and ask them the last time they bought any regular clothes. Or ask them the last time they wore something other than the uniform! You’ll probably get a laugh. And if you don’t, please s-l-o-w-l-y move away and carry on! Do not ask any more questions!

Such as in pulling-in from Daly City at 2:21 in the morning. If you see an operator engaged with another passenger, such as assisting a drunk sleeper on the back steps, wait to ask about where to stand to catch the next bus. Even if the owl coach has been parked in the terminal for several minutes, allow the operator of the next bus to clear the coach first.

Also important to remember is the rule that I must walk to the back of the coach to check all seats before I pull in to see next morning’s yard-starter. If a youth has fallen asleep in the seats near the back, or by the articulated joint in the double-long coach, I cannot see them from my interior rear view mirror.

I was blessed to have an inspector checking pull-ins from Bryant and 16th to call for assistance to have a youth removed who would not wake up or stir from his slumped over position. It can take up to an hour to have the police and then the fire department remove an intoxicated person on a stretcher in an ambulance off to San Francisco General Hospital. It is a no-no to pull-in and leave a surprise for the car cleaner!

So seeing a yard-starter when I pull-out, and then in the wee hours of the morning when I pull-in, makes this well rounded Muni operator a guidepost to the start of my day, and sometimes the last good-bye as I go home. When I see a yard-starter willing to drop and rack poles in the yard and help coaches pull out on time, I know I am in for a good sign-up!

Another tally for finding the Zen and keeping my job if I can see them in the yard and walk off without going upstairs to fill out an incident report!