Follow my Leader

It seems like a quiet Friday today, I think to myself. The bus has several seats open; no one is standing in the aisle. The bus is most definitely in the Zen zone, even though we are halfway through the trip in the middle of the line. How can this be? The answer is usually right in front of your eyes. If you scan through the windscreen (windshield) a few blocks ahead, you should see the tail lights of another trolley running late or on my time. Until recently, I thought this was a form of heaven on earth, a time to make good money without the fight over a seat or space.

But with GPS, DVAS, and computer technology on the bus recording every door opening and every stop, I realized I must adapt more acutely to this record-keeping by observing the one block spacing rule. Following too closely is a no-no that can generate a citation from an officer of the law if contact is made at a stop sign or light when rear-ended by another car. As bus drivers, we can also receive a written warning based upon the actions of our operation if we stay too close to our leader—the bus in front of us. If the DVAS clock display is off by six minutes, I must call Central for a time check.

The problem for me is mental. I am in such a runner’s mode, having been trained on the Mission lines without a leader, that I am preprogrammed to shave every unnecessary second off of dwell time in the zone. I can move up four minutes without leaving early from the terminal. And when Central gives me orders to move up four, I have to signal this to my follower so as not to create a hole in time behind me.

Here’s a case in point on the 49 Van Ness. There was no help from the 47s. Four minutes would not have made a difference, as three coaches of help from the 47 were not there. By checking door movements, it was obvious I was skipping stops. And by leaving late, it could be seen that I was “playing games.” But none of this had anything to do with my desire to get down Van Ness without incident. The written record of passenger complaints against me was actually about overcrowding and lack of other service to Caltrain on the 47.

Letters to the editor in local news press reflect the same angry sentiment we bus drivers have when we get disciplined with days off without pay. The Bus Rapid Transit Lane is trumpeted as a plan to speed the commute but is of little value in the here and now when buses are missing, and angry commuters see a full 49 passing them up.

So “follow my leader” is usually a sign that my leader is full and needs help. If I follow too closely, pass-ups can result in late runners or confusion about which bus to board if intenders have been waiting too long and clog the doors of the bus in front. The natural beat that occurs between buses with a regular interval of seven minutes gets ruined when bunching occurs.

So, what I have learned is to disable my move-up mode, and hold doors open at an empty zone to keep spacing at more than just a block. I have found that three blocks is usually the shortest space required to keep things flowing. If I have a bus behind me catching up and getting too close, I must not let this force me to speed up. These subtle pressures can build and lead to a write-up. So, even though technology is providing the black and white data for discipline, key factors like other bus lines or DVAS clock time missing or being off by several minutes render an accurate or predictable snapshot impossible.