I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m tired of bus drivers who think they have a license to be pricks. This goes out to the bus driver who couldn’t answer a simple question coming from a confused rider. The driver thought it would be much more helpful (and fun apparently) to be sarcastic,rude, and difficult. The confused rider was me and I asked a simple question you asshole! I plan to report you.
I have been riding the bus for a while and I must say most drivers are helpful and polite! Why does someone like him have to fuck it up for the rest of them. He gives drivers a bad rep!! You know who you are you piece of crap. Do you feel better about yourself when you make others feel small? Are you making up for a “shortfall” of your own?
— Disrespected
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2009.
I agree that there’s not usually any need for rudeness, but then again some people try to use the bus driver as their own personal navigator / tour guide and hold everyone else on the bus up through their own selfishness, lazyness, and ineptitude. Times like those I wish the bus driver would be a bit rude!
Asking a simple question, like “does this bus go to Mumford Terminal?” is one thing and perfectly fine, but when you expect the bus driver to plan your whole route out for you… jeez, look at a map / schedule or call the Metro Transit number yourself!
How a driver handles your question depends on the question OP. If you were to ask me if I go to, say, the Royal Bank on Quinpool, I’d either say yes, or no but the 1,14,6,20 all do. Fine and dandy, I can tell where you’re going. Then there are people who ask questions so vague they accomplish nothing, like, “Do you go to the mall?” (which mall?), or this gem from last week, “Do you go all the way?” (um…no comment). Those questions usually get questions in return from me, or in the case of the “mall” questions, I occasionally point them to Mic Mac Mall (anytime I get asked that, they want HSC) until they actually tell me which mall they want.
Also, some people will hand me an address and ask if I go there and where to get off. Usually, I don’t know this because it’s on a side street and the person who gave them the address forgot to tell them things like what street it’s off of, or nearby landmarks, or in one case on the 52, what direction to go (got on at Mumford, asked in Bayers Lake if I go to Dartmouth). Give them as much info as you can, or give them cab fare. Bus drivers aren’t that knowledgeable about side streets.
Maybe your voice was a little loud and the poor, tired champion of safety, oh I mean bus-driver, felt that he just couldn’t continue.
I normally don’t have too many issues asking the bus drivers where to go, but I usually make my question pretty clear. However, I had one instance that was a mind boggler: last year, on the 9 route, the bus shelter beside the Needs literally disappeared overnight. The go time sign was attached to the shelter, and people were confused as to whether they should wait there or the next stop. When I asked a bus driver (going in the other direction) if it was still considered a stop, he was like “uh, I don’t know.” I don’t blame him though, I think it was an issue where they didn’t communicate with the drivers when the removed the shelter. They eventually put a new sign at the stop.
I understand some people have questions here or there about routes, but what really chaps my ass is when the bus stops for someone and they don’t get on they just ask “DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE *insert bus number that isn’t the bus I’m currently sitting on but goes to that stop* IS COMING?” (um get a schedule, or use your cell to call the go time number? and no, I’m sure drivers aren’t all up on which busses are late or the schedule of each and every route at any given time) or when they just dumb general questions they could probably figure out for themselves if they, oh I dunno, acquired a transit map. They’re NOT hard to read at all! When I moved back I knew nothing about the bus system in Halifax, seeing as I was a kid when I left and just followed my mom (I knew about the busses I travelled on when I was a kid, but routes were a lot different when I moved back) and I simply acquired a bus map and now I can pretty much tell you where every bus goes.
MT’s system isn’t exactly like Ottawa’s transit system for example, which requires one to have a PhD to navigate (they have a handy online travel planner I would’ve been LOST without, literally), so I really don’t get some of the DUMB questions some riders ask. Once I was on the 52 bayers lake and someone asked the driver if the bus went to bayers lake. The driver said “that’s what the sign on the bus says”. Bitch got on and asked again about 10 minutes later!
Either people are dumb or just too fucking lazy to LOOK AT A MAP OR A SCHEDULE.
why wasn’t this logged as another bus bitch?
I don’t ride the bus (unless forced at gunpoint) but I wonder why someone hasn’t said in a dead calm voice – “Your rudeness will be reported’. Get the fucker’s bus number and report it to MT. They may not act immediately but I’m sure there are others who have issues with this driver. Hopefully, enough complaints will make MT rethink this particular driver’s future.
PK: I always carry a schedule book for when people ask that, but you’d be amazed how many people at the bridge terminal ask me when bus # X comes. This is bad because there’s a schedule posted right in the middle of the terminal. And even though I carry a book in my backpack, I try to keep it there so I can remind people about GoTime while I dig it out.
Also bad, have you seen bus X? Most times the answer is no, but last night coming back from a 33, I happened to spot the 2 going up Broadholme. One of those rare times I answered yes, I have seen bus X.
hollah!: We don’t usually get warning when specific shelters get replaced, and we definitely don’t know when bus stop signs go missing for various reasons. If you’re in doubt about a stop that’s missing something, it’s best to call it in. This way, you either get an answer, or you’ve just reported a missing sign. Either way, you win. 😉