The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective

One defect that does not usually appear on the defect card is that of stop request.  Most of the time, we as operators, become so familiar with our routine on our run 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 where we must stop and open the doors, even if it first appears that no one is intending in the zone.  Hospital stops are a no brainer for coming to stop and lowering the kneeler automatically.  Certain places around  corners and with limited sight distance are also a good place to stop even if we hear no ring.  Hermann is such a stop on the 22.  Also Kansas before turning toward Seventeenth.   

Recent changes to our operating rules through voter initiatives, and with technology, have given a strong voice to our riding public and given managers’ tools to enforce the rules and make those of us who operate the buses, more accountable to our actions.  It used to be you guys were just as tired and fed up (as we were) when you were on your ride home, that no way were you going to find the Muni number, and dial on your land line to an office that was now closed, about being passed up by a Muni bus.  Today, with cell phone in hand, and a simple 3-1-1 on speed dial,  a call can be placed immediately and a written record and ID number generated on the spot.  When I was being observed, I received a call from central control about someone I had passed up three stops back. Wow!  That is a big change from the first ten years I spent behind the wheel with only the land line number 673-M.U.N.I.  

The bottom line I learned from all this was that not observing the one block spacing rule can get me in trouble when my leader is close in front, and another bus, such as the 14 is behind me.  I have to realize that new riders are not hip on how to signal a coach at a multiple line stop.  Not “being ready” is not a valid excuse as a pass-up.  The only one needed to be “taught a lesson” was me! 

Twelfth and Otis is one of those “around the corner” stops that need be made, even if we don’t see anybody waiting as we turn the corner from the 49, or cross-over 101, on Mission.  A coworker recently commented on a PSR he got as a pass-up at this stop.  No one was waiting at the stop and he kept on going.  I too, have done this many times, but have been written up for accumulating too many of these non stop, bus stop actions.  Coaches send digital information from their onboard mother board about how many times we open the doors, and for how long and at what stop.  Every action on the bus is recorded including PA announced stops.   

With the simplicity in calling a three digit number, 3-1-1, and a digital camera file in cloud storage, not on a seventy-two-hour loop (that erases and re-records,) those of us who have been around for ten plus years, must adapt to this change and realize that pass-ups we make to manage our passenger load or headway, must be made, even if this causes delay.    Coming to the curb and opening the door may no longer be enough to satisfy the requirement of making a stop.  Moving away from the curb can only be made if there is no billboarding from other large vehicles. 

This change is hard to make to override  a habit I have developed over a period of time.  I have been so obsessed with continuing to make the schedule at all costs, that I have reduced dwell time in the zone at certain stops.  I am overcoming this by trying to stay in one place and keep my doors open longer.  Even still, there are some late runners who don’t make it in time, and I have to let go of the outcome.  I must be clear of fear, as to whether the latecomer will call in on 3-1-1 and complain that I passed them up.  There appears to be an invisible ledger of karma that can keep trouble at bay, if I have waited for runners.  Same is true for right-of-way with other cars.

There seems to be an increased perception from those that miss my bus, that I am not doing my job when I do not stop.  I have accumulated too many pass-up notices within a three month time frame.  Once again, our mirrors only  capture a small zone alongside our bus, and we may not see someone running from across the street or perpendicular to where our coach is standing.  As a passenger, just yesterday, I saw this happen several times while I was sitting in the last seat at the back of the bus:  People would run from the BART station steps on the side of the bus, and I could see them running, but the operator could not see them and pulled away.   This makes us look  bad, but we aren’t intentionally passing them up.  This hasn’t been easy.  Especially with new riders.

Some seasoned riders still have trouble with transfers and the stop request. They desire to get on a 1 California bus going all the way to Thirty-Third Avenue and Geary outbound and do not believe they should re–board a short line coach to Presidio Avenue, and then re-board the Thirty-Third Avenue coach at Presidio. During peak period, they get the thumb from passing Presidio destination operators, only to be passed-up by the full terminal coach—passing in the second or third place—after a parade of short line coaches.

Getting angry and calling 3-1-1 is a passive-aggressive result not solving the pass-up. This complaint was posted on a general bulletin board in the division, as a method of communicating to all drivers.  The solution is as simple as boarding the first coach and riding to Presidio, or moving to a stop where the Thirty-Third Avenue coach invariably stops. The problem is where the intender is trying to board, and not communicating with the driver of the bus they need. I know who and where this occurs, and all she needs to do to change the problem, is talk to the operator of the coach she boards, and then talk to the Thirty-Third Avenue operator when she transfers. 

I know this woman, because ten years ago she was having the same problem! I asked her to board my short line coach and then transfer. She refused. She said she would wait for “her bus”. Her failure to change her behavior for a different result has not materialized in a decade! Complaining to the third-party call center never brought about the change she needed. Her scowling face and hostile attitude waiting on the pass-up corner, just reinforced the surety from the passing operators to stay clear of ‘the problem’ intender. Not honoring the one block spacing rule is usually to cause of this problem. This is how management can solve the problem. An inspector at Polk should do the trick. 

To be sure, she should not have to board a Presidio coach: the expectation to ride only one coach to the end is reasonable; but this hasn’t happened while I was away at Potrero for 8 years, so I qualify this as insane thinking on the part of the passenger. Doing—or not doing—the same thing over and over—expecting different results—means there is no willingness to change. Extra board daily details, a shortage of operators, vacations and the like—clouds the responsibility and discipline of who, what, or when and where. 

What she doesn’t understand is that Thirty-Third Avenue coaches inbound get delayed by the extra work they do inbound. Short line operators outbound have an easy time of it, and, at first blush, stop to pick her up. But when she says over and over, “No, I want Thirty-Third.”—the next time they see her on another day, they give her the thumb. The Thirty-Third Avenue operator sees her angry stand, and stays clear. Dear Rider, you attract more bees with honey, not as a fly in the ointment! 

Good luck! 

I’ll be on the 1 again this summer, and I am not going to repeat my missive to you as I tried to explain to you ten years ago. Either you’re in or you’re out; just like Danny Ocean to Linus in the movie Ocean’s Eleven!

I hope I am not considered too old a dog,  so I can be taught new tricks!  But tricks ain’t happening, at least not in the Superintendent’s office and looking at file footage of an incident from a complaint!  I have to do what has been suggested:  slow down and not worry about a full bus.  “Let them wait.” is the affirmation I need in my mind to stay fit. These are the two biggest demons I have had to fight on the job with headway changes. If I can cross the retirement ribbon  finish line with my operator status in good standing, I will have crossed victorious!  Keeping Zen is all the challenge I will ever need.   And it is a basic as this topic and the action in a stop request inside or outside the coach. Editor’s note: Driver Doug did it! 

So I have been reborn with awareness about the pass-up and the stop request.  The computer registers every time we open the door, and for how long.  Dwell time in the zone is captured and recorded.  APC coaches, marked on the front windscreen, count how many board and depart at each stop.  APC stands for automatic passenger counter.  You can see these as a passenger by those red lights reflecting like a laser beam at the top of the stairwells.  

When I am assigned such a coach I make sure I capture that extra person running from a transfer coach at a transfer point from another line.  I wait for the 1 California, the 2 Clement, and the 5 Fulton.  The gratitude I receive when I wait for runners is worth the wait!   I know I am having a good day at the ‘office’ when I have room to wait.  Increasing the time I have by servicing the zone with an APC coach in keeping the doors open helps keep the Zen of the Trolleybus of Happy Destiny going on the job!

My views are based upon my years of experience and may go contrary to my union’s view, based upon many operators with much experience. Union members are elected by the group of operators, and my chapter essays are only taking my personal view into account. My star-cast and life reading from the Cayce society point out I must find my own personal leadership style but must consider helping groups of others or find intimate mates to assist in love and service rather than be my own captain of the ship. 

A friend asks on Facebook, “What can be done about the homeless encampment that is a bus shelter stop at Leavenworth and Post?”  I hesitate to answer this question in the comment box in response to his post about Post. This is where it is a good place to state, “The views contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views or rules of the SFMTA or it’s employees.”

Indeed, these missives bound together in a book are all from self, with my exclusive point of view, usually done without running it through a coworker. I found out the hard way that editing with another pair of eyes, for example, is a necessary standard in helping an author I could not admit.

Rear door boarding is an issue many of my coworkers did not agree with, but I did. Rocking down the Mission, I was able to easily keep to the schedule and reduce dwell time in the zone by clicking open all doors. The largest complaint I get at the fare box is from riders who question what I am to do about checking the fare of those who do not pay by boarding in the rear. 

I was a strong advocate for rear door boarding and it seems management acceded to this request, to the behest of the union, and nowhere does this become more apparent than at a shelter stop where the shelter has become a shelter for homeless, street druggies, and drug dealers. To be sure, minimizing open rear door dwell time can prevent drama from those who do not pay. To me, the open door policy minimizes drama and confrontation, and speeds running time down the line. To others, if feels like loss of control and opening pandora’s box. This is a tough one to reconcile.

So when confronting the dilemma of unclean or blocked seats at a bus shelter, I must tread carefully, and seek wise counsel about what to do. Based on calls to TMC (Transit Metro Control) on the radio, when two or more calls come in to the radio operator, action is taken. 

So my solution to a dirty shelter encampment would be to have my friend get other neighbors in his building, or those he sees at the bus stop, to call 3-1-1 and put in a service request to clean the shelter. Another point would be to bring up health and safety. These are two golden words that make a difference. All shouting, pouting, and profanity on the phone lines to our call center are not as effective as saying in a detached voice and tone, “For health and safety.” 

We are continually reminded from inspectors on the street, and over the radio and in training mode that safety is our highest and first priority. This is the the golden rule I present to the riding public and reader of this tome. Use the golden rule to have and effect and affect change.

I came up with this chapter topic because I had some cool photos of some shelters being installed by our barn on Presidio Ave. Soon after I took photos of a brand new shelter, youth running from police in presumably a stolen car, took out that shelter. I got a picture of this newly installed shelter and it’s short lived life. 

Indeed, the road to happy destiny takes many rough turns. Bus mirrors hit the shelter, wheel chairs get caught between the poles, and crack heads crack all the glass all the time. The shards can be resold as ‘ice’ to unsuspecting ‘forty niners’ new to the city. 

Just like panning for gold, the instinctive street wary denizen can sell useless broken glass as a new wonder drug to the latest techie going down from a crystal meth or heroin binge fueled by the bounty of VC: in this era, not the Viet Cong, but venture capital. And so goes the boom and bust cycle of San Francisco. Like the helter skelter in the life of a bus shelter, it goes up and it comes down. 

Just like sitting at the dock of the bay watching the tide, the road to happy destiny does have it victories and defeats.

This is a fun game to play, as is Charades, in a large group at a party. But if that party is a waiting queue on Market Street on Fourth or Fifth, the game becomes no fun real fast as the lights go red again, and the buses back up behind the red lane in the middle of the street. I am currently in a dilemma about how to come to the end of the game fast enough to get the party moving!

The quickest solution, as any experienced improvisation comedian will attest, is to agree with anything! The secret to improv is to agree with your antagonist in the audience or on stage, to keep the train moving, usually with hilarious inventive add ons. The same could be said with giving directions in a crowd of visitors. 

“Do you go to the Piers?” Yes. 

“Do you go the Wharf?” Yes. 

“Do you go to the Bay?” Yes.

 “Do you go to Market?” Yes. 

Should not that be the end of it? Unfortunately, no. More questions to follow. So here is where I have to get the flock moving. Hmm. We know from Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel that huge numbers of birds take flight when a threat is perceived. 

That’s it! I need to give them a threat to get them moving! But I need to stay calm and friendly.

The Romanized version of Tao can be spelled Dao. I did this to be alliterative to my name as Driver Doug. Below is a link to my artist writer YouTube channel now updated from the Dao of Doug and rail transit blog to Walks on Waikiki –videos about walking, transit, and bikes.