There are certain key points around the system where operators begin and end their shift not at the bus barn. Eleventh and Mission is a relief point. It is a place where drivers take over the seat and relieve another operator per the run schedule. And at this corner, it is also where defective coaches …
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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 …
Pulling In
One common comment people make when waiting for the bus is the question, “How come I see like three buses going in the opposite direction when I have been waiting 15 minutes for a bus and nothing is coming?” And this has to do with where the buses come from, and where they are headed …
Moms and Babies
After morning rush out come the moms and babies. Well, sometimes they are on morning rush if the day care center is on your way inbound. But generally, the babes come out from 10 a.m. to noon, or before school gets out around 3 p.m. What a wonder to see a newborns’ face. Or even …
The Stroller Incident
Without even having read this chapter, I am sure there are operators who once they saw this subheading, rolled their eyes to the back of their head. Likewise, regular riders of the 22 Fillmore certainly have paragraphs of stories they could add to this chapter. Anyone who has rode past Fillmore and Haight has the …
The Bigger They Are. . .
“The bigger they are the harder they fall” seems to be completely unrelated to this, but after filling out the number of accident reports I have over the years, I think somehow this does seem to matter. Every occurrence relates to what I was first told in my final interview upon hiring, and in my …
New Year’s Eve
Halloween is only three days away as I write this chapter, and it’s a Saturday and already I have seen costumes last night, and even earlier in the week. But the holiday season vibe is picking up and everyone is in the change of gears of the season. The air is crisp and clear. The …
Special Events
Finding the Zen zone during special events can be a challenge. Such as doing the 21 Line by Golden Gate Park on the weekend of a major concert or running event that ends or lets out near the Polo Fields in the park. I had made a wise choice to work the 21 line on …
On Your Marks. . .
The first thing to do when a fight looks ready, is to open the rear doors and pop the brake. The sound of the brake let’s everyone know we aren’t moving. The rear door open gives an out to one of the people in the argument. Since impatience is usually the prevailing mood, one of …
The White Lie
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/douglas-griggs/collections/usual+excuses Because San Francisco is such a small, compact city with water on three sides, our crosstown bus routes intersect with every line that goes downtown inbound, or out to a beach on the ocean or by the bay in the opposite direction. Since we also have a large visitor population, we get asked about …
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective 