Duboce is not exactly in line with Division, which is not exactly perpendicular to Divisadero, which zigs to become Castro right where Duboce crosses. Is Mission one block away from Market? Of course it is, when we don’t count Minna or Stevenson. Wait, you mean Valencia, don’t you? Valencia is 15 blocks long and ends …
Author Archives: driverdoug2002
The Complaint Department
Is closed. Or so I was told every time I entered the tower at Potrero by the lead shop man whenever I had to pull-in. Perhaps this message stemmed from the incident with the dirty filter I had on my bus when I pulled in one night. The clasp holding the grille that protects the …
Tagging the Coach
I came back from the bathroom at City College, and saw a young man running away from the front of my bus. He still had an aerosol paint can in his hand as he ran. I knew I had less than 15 seconds to capture the image. I ran to the front door, pried it …
Bikes Pass on the Left
One great billboard on the back of some buses is the illustration showing a bus turned-in at a bus stop with a cyclist behind the bus moving to the left to pass the bus. What a great illustration for a cyclist to see traveling behind a stopped city bus! This message has helped countless times …
Bus Bunching
When a delay occurs on the line, and buses get bunched together, it is important to understand that how the bigger queues of people waiting at a stop can influence whether this delay get worse or better. Wise are the riders on the Geary, Mission, and California lines who know on a regular basis, that …
Retarder Control
One aspect of driving a large vehicle is the larger number of lights and controls on the dash. In a tour bus there is sometimes a retarder control joystick that assists braking. On a city transit bus, the retarder control is built into the service brake. We transit operators can see a retarder light …
Use a Black Pen
Describe something you learned in high school. I learned not to use a different colored pencil when filling out an alcohol drug survey in math class. Ms. All-rabid started failing me on quizzes when she realized what I had done wrong by drinking beer and smoking pot and cigarettes several times a week-according to my …
Kitty Corner
“Is this the way to Powell Station?” intenders ask as I open the door. I tell them they need to take the bus in the other direction. This question gets asked often at Steiner and Hayes across from the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square. They have arrived at the park from the crosstown 22 Fillmore …
Summertime in the City
The inability to see or read the head sign of a bus, or to know where to stand based upon stalled traffic or double parked vehicles notwithstanding, one detail that usually does not escape notice in our fair city is when our air temperature is not fair. The afternoon fog moves in, the temperature drops …
Great Expectations
I pick up a runner crossing from the far-side corner after I turn the corner and wait for him to come to the rear door as I toggle the rear door open. A little boy with tears in his eyes giving the constant low moaning wail of not getting something he wants, lights up and …
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective 