There is a bus stop on the 51 route going towards the bridge that is a 2 minute walk from my house. I have the GoTime # saved in my phone, so I can call and make sure I am on time for the bus. The other day I called, it said 7 minutes until the bus comes. I left my house, and within 1 minute the bus was driving by. I started running, and made it to the bus within 10 seconds. When I got on the bus I said thank you to the bus driver, who then told me, in a very haughty and VERY bitchy tone, that I should get myself a bus schedule. I told her that not only do i have a bus schedule in my bag, I also called GoTime and was told I had 7 minutes. She then argued with me about what time she leaves the last stop, and said next time she wouldn’t wait for me if I wasn’t at the stop.
Most of the bus drivers I encounter do not have this type of attitude, and are very pleasant to deal with, so this comment is not directed at you. But to the driver of bus route 51 going towards the bridge in the afternoons (And all other bus drivers with similar mindsets): Stop acting like you are doing me a favour by allowing me on your bus. I am a paying customer, and if it were not for people like me riding the bus you would not have a job where you can sit on your ass all day and earn a ridiculous amount of money to do it.
—Frustrated with bus drivers who act like they are doing favours for paying customers.
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2009.
And for this she gets paid 50 grand a year and threatens to go on strike because that is not near enough pay for driving a bus.
FYI Bobby, they do not get 50 grand a year.
As an addendum to BRoc’s comment… I’d really like to see you deal with assholes all day Bobby and think you shouldn’t be paid well to do it.
I can actually empathize with OP here as I used to live on the 51 route about a 2 minute walk away. No really, this was before my driving days. The 51 (and the 83 for any Sacktown readers) have only 2 timepoints under normal runs, the start and finish. Once the bus leaves Princess Margaret, there is nothing to slow it down between there and the bridge. This means the bus usually arrives early and GoTime in this circumstance is quite a bit off.
Solution OP: Depending on how far from PMB you live, leaving your place at the same time it leaves PMB should get you on that bus with little effort. If you’re waiting more than 10 minutes, it means the gypsum train’s a-rollin’. It worked for me.
As for the driver, I wasn’t there, I won’t comment. I will say that rumour has it we’re hiring soon if anyone thinks we make too much…
I wonder what this bus driver is like at home.
maybe she did pay for that bus and it IS hers? Yea and she likely pays to fill it up too – drive the fuckin bus on time already you only drive it – not own it and its a public service and their a public employee – if they don’t like being a public servant driving a public service them maybe they shoould get a job elsewhere –