The best time to work Muni is when the bus has an empty aisle and half the seats are open. This occurs in the morning on most major holidays and on Sunday mornings. The aisle is empty and half the seats are empty. The pulse and rhythm, the ebb and flow of passengers is steady …
Author Archives: driverdoug2002
RDO
Regular Day Off. If a workweek goes by and I have kept my sanity, I can test my body and mind and see if I can work on my day off, my RDO. If I haven’t turned crazy by working my run during the week, I can see if I can “get away” with making …
Flat Tire
The wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town, except for when there is a construction detour, or another patch job in the making from the Water Department, or PG&E, the utility company! The wheels go round and round, even if the tire tread doesn’t. But you would never know, because …
Wheel Blocks
“Unbelievable, just unbelievable.” This is the statement of a resident nearby the La Playa bus terminal by the Ocean Beach Safeway. It was recorded for the Jon Stewart Show. This was a comedy show, and the occasion for the recording was based on the fact that this man’s garage was hit by motor coaches more …
Shoes
“Baby needs a new pair of shoes.” That’s what I say when I am hitting hard, or I see sparks at night off of my collectors. Shoes are the carbon blocks sitting inside the brasserie or metal brackets that form a slot at the end of our trolley poles. This is the point at which …
Hot Lunch
As I walk to my corner coffee shop at zero dark thirty in the morning, I see another splayed design of “ejecta” on the sidewalk from someone’s drinking spree last night. At least this “hot lunch” occurred outside of the aisle and stairwell of a Muni bus. When someone pukes on the bus, we can …
Islands vs. Curbs
On Market Street, there are two places on a block to catch or pick up a bus. If you have your Incredibles superhero costume tights on, you should know the newer ETI Skoda trolleys weigh about ten tons sans passengers, so be careful you don’t pull your back muscles when you catch the approaching bus …
Avenues or Streets ?
My friends always ask me about what line I am driving. Then they ask about the F Streetcar line on Market Street. The railway has a number of historic streetcars from around the world, and they have been restored and repainted in colors from cities such as Melbourne, Philadelphia, Milan, and Kansas City. It is …
Calling Central
One of the common comments I get from operators, even those with time and with lots of experience, is the refrain, “I never call central.” Or “Those guys are clueless.” And I have found operators on the extra board fall in to this category more than the average operator working a regular run on the …
The Kneeler
“You’re supposed to lower the kneeler for seniors,” or “Thanks for lowering the steps,” sarcastically spoken after departing to the sidewalk does not help much. A request for the kneeler with a condescending tone (as if I’m a mind reader) after ascending or descending, may not reflect where my attention is focused at the time. …
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective 