A Life Behind the Wheel

Why Be a Driver?

Many ask this question, and we drivers know who you are: Someone who has never driven for a living before. There are many negatives to being a driver, but not usually what you may think if all you’ve ever known is an office or in retail. In most respects, an office job is a superior job, unless you are like most drivers, independent, and not a fan of office politics. Indeed, the life of a driver does involve politics to some degree, but only in a larger sense like city government’s rules and regulations such as parking tickets or moving violations. 

If you work for the government, as a civil service employee, the politics of parking and fee violation threats are somewhat reduced, as you are driving city equipment on city streets, and the police are your supportive coworkers. Backlash can occur at any intersection or crosswalk, however, and the ‘me first’ attitude of car culture, borne of the baby boom generation, is the saddest detriment to quality of life in this thriving city. Heat from claims from the city attorney’s office, and public complaints about rude drivers are the pushback we do well to understand if we are to keep our job and stay off the radar.

No, the life of a driver is one more like that of a writer: interest in the people who cross your path. Tour bus driver guide, shuttle driver, taxi driver, and in delivery services, we get in get out, and have command of our own ship, so to speak. Get in get out, like our hero Robert Di Nero in the movie Brazil.

We learn the art of understanding and dealing with dispatchers or how to get a signature if squaring a delivery. We know what paths not to take during certain times, and secrets about how to cut delays. We have a many times thankless job, but we still have our own independence and ability to keep to ourselves when all is quiet.

There is no age limit on being a driver. Very few companies discriminate against us because they need us more than we need them. There are so many avenues of approach for a driving job, as, ultimately, our warm body behind the seat is very valuable. I see this every time I learn a new short cut from an experienced taxi driver who can get me to a destination five minutes faster and three dollars cheaper by the road less traveled. That’s what makes San Francisco so intriguing. There are so many ways to get from point A to B. 

When we begin to seek a job outside of being a transit operator, the change back to the ‘real world’ can be confusing and confounding. The change in our blood chemistry required to move to a desk can be not unlike a medical testing procedure with electrodes and needle sticks! The adjustment is considerable. In riding home on a trolleybus, I heard another tale about an attempt to leave transit operator for another description.

I could not understand why many experienced bus drivers were getting the cold shoulder or disinterest in seeking other jobs with the city. My friend driving the bus on my ride home came up with a plausible reason for non-interest in consideration for another city job: It’s because human resources knows we are of most value to the city by keeping our driving job. A different job title or job class number may seem easier or like a promotion, but the fact of the matter is, our experience is our gold. 

Not being fazed by the crazies, or knowing how or when to write a report becomes a key that can’t be entered into an hourly rate. We drivers are a class unto ourselves. Only those who have driven a bus before us understand the how and why of our thinking, and compassion for our split second decision-making that can appear incorrect from the black and white on a desk. The fear of what if can be a weapon used by those who do not drive, but we only find peace when we realize we cannot change their priorities. We cannot control what time they choose to enforce the rulebook. Only our intuition can be our guide.

As long as our vision is clear and our hearing is good, we are good to go. With blood sugar and blood pressure in a normal range, we can continue in service as long as we shall live, so help us God. We can stay behind the wheel for as long as we shall live. And, of course, stay within the health guidelines setup to make sure we don’t lose attention by low blood sugar, lack of rest, or have cholesterol levels in an unhealthy range. Stress on our bodies over the years, then, is our final enemy. 

And when I (finally) see I am this enemy of my worst self, lest I think I have a new trick to try and keep and love as my own, the trolleybus of happy (or crappy) destiny awaits us at any corner and on any track!