The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective
Rail Transit Commuters
One recent writing prompt on my Word Press channel–was to describe, “What would I do if I lost all my possessions?” I started to write about the two men I see here on Oahu that were fortunate enough to survive the Maui wind fires from Hurricane Dora, and are basically having to start over here …
Continue reading “What’s Gotten Rotten in our Income and Affordability?”
After being called on the carpet for a pass-up on Van Ness, my leaving time from the North Point terminal was questioned by the assistant superintendent. I had departed about four minutes late. Thankfully, the data also showed I was four minutes late upon arrival. This information was obtained from using the sheets of data …
This devilish mode is found in the morning when someone turns on the coach in neutral; it’s a bummer when you need to pull out on track four. Nowhere can the ghosts inhabiting some buses be found more frequently than in the flashing red light on the dash that notes propulsion down or reduced performance. …
It wasn’t until I looked through my old journals that I finally found an answer I had been looking for about why I was on the black list of an important street operations inspector who has dogged me for many years. And I have been replaying in my mind, what I could have done differently …
They say its a bitch, and it really is. Problem is, half the time I never knew I was receiving payback. I was having a bad day without knowing I was the cause. And it took me years to see the cause and effect my actions of pissing off others had when this energy boomeranged …
Next time you see an operator wearing a safe driver patch, ask yourself what it reminds you of. Is it a nuclear or biological warfare hazard symbol? Perhaps it is a design not unlike the fallout shelter signs of the fifties and sixties. No, this is the safe driving award patch for a transit operator …
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? The best piece of advice I’ve ever received was to do nothing and stay in Hawaii. As a twenty-nine year resident of San Francisco I thought it would be a good idea to go move back there now that COVID is over—to find my heart—and be …
One of the tools always at the disposal of an operator is the 702. This is the three digit 700 code of numbers that describes certain incidents over the radio to Central Control. And the code number 702 means the operator is taking a twenty minute break as a comfort stop to use the rest …
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 …
When is this? Perhaps in five minutes after 5 p.m. when all the elevators fill with office workers ready to go home. Perhaps it is senior citizens looking out their window and seeing the rain has stopped and the sun is out. Perhaps it is the classroom bell ringing at Marina Middle School, signaling the …
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective