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 …
Tag Archives: bus_times
The Zen Zone
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 …
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 …
Coach Trade and the Defect Card
As the buses warm up and get used, the dynamics change. What was once a great bus in the first four hours of service, becomes a creaky cantankerous old complainer. The back doors stop closing. The kneeler fails to rise. The brakes start to grab. Or the horn starts to blare without even touching the …
Crunch Zone
I picked up a man in a wheelchair near downtown at Third Street outbound and was amazed at how smooth and fast he boarded and locked in. I could tell he was a regular rider. Instinctively, I knew he was going to get off at 16th and Mission, and sure enough, when I asked, he …
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 …
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 …
Best of the Dao of Doug Training Vault
Knowledge is Power and Income
Secure the Coach
Part of testing a new operator in being qualified by a state inspector is coach securement. As this book is written by a trolley operator, the added requirement of coach securement is in cradling the poles by the hooks near the harp at the back of the coach. Many a day goes by where a …
Headway
“When is the next bus coming?” “Is there another bus behind you?” “How long before you go?” All of these questions are actually about headway. Headway is the time in minutes between buses. People usually ask me what is the best line to drive. And I say to you now the real question is, “What …
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective 