“Where the hell have you been?” a) “The pizza delivery boy was late and apologized, so I got a free pizza and ate it all at the terminal. You don’t expect me to wolf it all down in five minutes, do you? I am not allowed to use my phone while I am driving, so …
Author Archives: driverdoug2002
Artist and a Writer
What are you most proud of in your life? I thought I should do a lot of psychedelics and do drugs, to be like Timothy Leary or drink and be like Ernest Hemingway. Perhaps I could be freed from the burden of the rules of society and be an edgy artist or writer who has …
Big Mouths and Crybabies
“Big mouths run hot.” So says our elected leader in the receiver’s office before picking up my outfit one morning. Apparently, a common thread running through arguments rebutting a write-up for running ahead of schedule is that of complaining about other persons, places, or things like our equipment as causes for running ahead of schedule. …
Like a Good Neighbor. . .
A good neighbor starts with me at the lobby door when I see the UPS man with packages. I can buzz him in or carry my neighbors’ package up to their door. I’m aware if they’re at work if their parking spot is empty. I can text them that they have a package, or, depending …
EPU
The switch to pull-out off of track five never works when we a late. Or, if once in a blue moon the yard starter’s call to the overhead crew is answered, we have a working pull-out switch for three days. All the coaches behind the switch don’t trigger the selectric box because the boxes are …
SSDD
Interesting that the question says who, and not what. For the first time in looking at these prompts, I looked at how others’ replied, and saw some very interesting patterns. Folks that obviously don’t have that kind of money would spend it on a single project that could easily be a sinkhole of loss in …
Open Run
It took me several years to learn this term. I found out about it after overhearing Central Control responding to a street operations inspector on the corner inquiring about a run number. “That run is a not-out,” was the response to a blank space in the headway between buses. The rules are as clear as …
About the Author
Transit Operator and also Driver Guide and Tour Bus Endorsements, CA to present. Commended by several Mayors as driver guide during Conference of Mayors Twice Line Trainer Qualified, Over 14 years safe driving, Expert Operator Achieved at Potrero Division. 1989-1996 Experienced in Materiel Management, Kaiser Permanente HMO : Commended for reducing chronic stock outs by …
Reprise
My book series on Amazon Make no mistake, I do sing on the bus. And although I am a bass clef brass baritone player, I consider my younger brother as the musician in the family. I’ll claim the writer title as I have an English degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Completing my …
Upper Yard
At the Potrero trolley bus barn, we have two levels. Unlike the Presidio trolley barn (which has one level and a tricky pull-out from track one and a pull-out to Sutter) the Potrero barn has many lanes of challenging tracks. There is a horseshoe U-turn maneuver from tracks ten, eleven, and twelve that can lock …
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective 