“Where the hell have you been?” a) “The pizza delivery boy was late and apologized, so I got a free pizza and ate it all at the terminal. You don’t expect me to wolf it all down in five minutes, do you? I am not allowed to use my phone while I am driving, so …
Tag Archives: Public Transportation
Free Ride
For those riders who are ready, a free ride is an opportunity to imagine what Muni would be like with no fare box at all. A smile and thank you is all it takes as a regular breezes by the yellow line to find a seat. The Zen zone is strong and the crunch zone …
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 …
The Late Ring
I approach a stop that I sometimes pass up without a ring or without anyone standing on the curb. Still no chime or no dash light. I coast without accelerating. I make the decision to stay in the traffic lane and pass the point of pulling to the right to bring the door to the …
We’ve Been Waiting an Hour
“Where the hell have you been?” a) “The pizza delivery boy was late and apologized, so I got a free pizza and ate it all at the terminal. You don’t expect me to wolf it all down in five minutes, do you? I am not allowed to use my phone while I am driving, so …
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 …
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 …
Best of the Dao of Doug Training Vault
Knowledge is Power and Income
Pulling Poles
When a coach becomes disabled after an accident or a security incident, if the operator is occupied with the police or an inspector, it is important they are not blocking traffic or other trolleys coming up from behind. It is embarrassing to me when a transit bus appears to be the problem in causing a …
The Ninth Level of Hell
Whenever I find myself in the ninth level of hell behind the wheel of a large automobile, in my case, a trolley of Muni, I try to ask myself how did I get in such a place? And it is by an essay such as this that I can backtrack to find my part in …
