What are your favorite websites? The biggest wonder I’ve seen in my time are the improvements in the internet and media sites. I’ve always wanted to be a radio star, a game show host, or an open mic comedian. YouTube makes all this possible! We can be our creative selves and be a host, a …
Author Archives: driverdoug2002
Stop Request
One defect that does not usually appear on the defect card is that of a stop request. Most of the time as operators, we become so familiar with our routine that we almost don’t need the stop request lights or bell to know where and when people are getting off the bus. Likewise, we know …
The Late Ring
I approach a stop that I sometimes pass up without a ring or without anyone standing on the curb. Still no chime or no dash light. I coast without accelerating. I make the decision to stay in the traffic lane and pass the point of pulling to the right to bring the door to the …
We’ve Been Waiting an Hour
“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 …
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 …
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective 