To the guy who asked me if we allow grocery bags on the bus:
That depends. Are you going to eat your groceries on the bus? If yes, then no we don’t.
Have you never seen the sign on the bus that says “no food”? Kids, and big people too, sometimes have a tendency to spill, drop, squish food onto seats and floors. Would you like to sit on a seat that has ketchup, mustard, pop etc. spilled on it? How about slipping on food dropped on the floor and falling on your face or on someone else?
Our job is stressful enough without ignorant people like you making it more unpleasant than it needs to be. We put up with needless crap from self righteous people like you that stick their noses into our business. No wonder so many of us are cranky.
So next time you’re on a bus and the bus driver is doing his or her job, mind your business. I wish I knew where you worked (if you have a job) so I could go there, tell you how to do your job and make stupid remarks.
Think you’d like that? I didn’t think so! Get a job and a life and leave mine alone. —The wheels on the bus go…
This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2010.
Aw, if this is PDG you sound like you need a vacation! The public is stupid. Unfortunately, many people are cursed with working with them.
I hate this policy. Almost every other transit system I’ve ever been on allows food and beverages on their buses and you allow food and beverages on the ferry, so I don’t see any reason why I can’t bring my coffee on the bus for my commute.
More to the point of the bitch: since when is asking a question grounds for this kind of tirade? Perhaps there’s more to the story, but from where I’m standing, the bus driver seems like a prick.
The wheels on the bus go round and round, pop falls down, spills around. ….the babies on the bus go down down down, licking it up all the way through town.
Once a bus driver was eating a hotdog while letting passengers on. When he handed me my transfer, it had a huge blob of mustard on it. I wiped it on the seat next to me. Sorry bus driver.
One time a bus driver handed me a transfer while she was gorging on salt and vinegar chips.. and she kept pigging out all the way from Barrington and Duke to Dartmouth Sportsplex..
How the fuck is asking whether or not groceries are allowed on the bus being self-righteous? Absolutely nothing you brought up suggested anything that indicated that he was telling you how to do your job and the no-food policy would make that question a fairly sensible one to ask. Maybe you should just try not being such an crabby overreacting jackass.
I was in Ottawa last week, and I was elated to know that I was ACTUALLY permitted to bring my coffee cup on the boss. Imagine that! I think the policy of not allowing drinks on the bus is ridiculous, especially after having experienced a different (and more smoothly run, for the record) transit system.
Can’t take coffee on the bus. Backwards ass just like most things around here.
Did you leave out some relevant backstory OP? Like the passenger’s demeanor, tone of voice, actions or comments made prior to and following the ,oh so, egregious “grocery bag” question.
Because as you have written it, you wind up sounding like the worst example of blinkered, entitled, unionism this side of Canada Post.
“I’m a trained driver; it’s not in my contract to answer questions” Is that really the point you want to make about your job and coworkers?
I really hope I’m mistaken, because as I’ve said here before, for all the faults of Metro Transit as an institution, you drivers encounter more sterling examples of failed Darwinism in an 8 hr. shift than most of us will meet in a year and that entitles you to major empathy and more than a little leeway when things turn pear-shaped.
I am guessing the guy wasn’t really asking the question, but was trying to be funny, and didn’t do it right so it came out snotty or something. Or maybe the guy meant it to be a snotty question to annoy the driver. Either way, stressing over it won’t be good for your health, so it is good OP let it out at least. Now the harder part is to let go, move on, and be calm enough to be able to get through another day.
I’m wondering if some of the story was left out too. The way it’s written, OP makes you sound like a huge prick for over reacting for a harmless question to someone who’s perhaps not familiar with the rules of the bus.
Also jdp21: i was shocked as shit to see people with coffee and other drinks on the bus and to see people eating big macs on the bus, even, when i lived in ottawa. And when I asked if we could bring drinks like starbucks or ice cappuccinos on the bus when I was in la ville de quebec, people looked at me like I had two heads. And curiously, OC Transpo and RTC busses/trains were spotless: even cleaner than metro transit! Makes you wonder.
In any event, I’ve eaten on the bus before. I’m also a pro at sneaking starbucks on the bus. As long as you’re discreet about it and don’t eat anymore than some chips or maybe a PB&J sandwich or keep the drink hidden in a bag, you’re ok. I’ve seen LOTS of others doing the same.
Also, I’ve also brought cooked food onto the bus (like, a bag of mcdonalds) to bring home. As long as you don’t have the drink visible, and you don’t eat the food it’s been ok. I’ve also seen a lot of people on the bus with the same type of bags of food.
Maybe they should change the sign to no drinking or eating on the bus, instead of no food or drinks?
I’m assuming the passenger was told he/she couldn’t bring whatever food they were eating on the bus and used the retort “Yeah, well do you allow GROCERIES on the bus?” as a defense.
At least that’s all that I can figure would cause a rant like this one
I was bringing home one of those grocery store roast chickens when there was an accident on the bridge and we were kept sitting there for an hour. Talk about feeling paranoid. The smell infused the whole bus and people were looking at me like the slavering, drooling, mindless zombies they were.
“Hey, there are 6 Uruguayan soccer players sitting at the back; you ain’t getting my fowl!”
Oh, I’m certain it was something like that DG. But the OP needed to make that clear because otherwise a possibly justifiable rant about the joys of dealing with the thinking impaired comes off sounding like a pissy little temper tantrum.
Exactly, Ivan!
you can’t argue with stupidity, o.p.
I firmly believe the no drinks/food rule is ridiculous. People spent A LOT of time on a bus (in Halifax, anyway), and sometimes a person needs to multitask. Sitting on a bus for an hour while en route to work is the perfect time to consume a coffee, maybe even a muffin. I now live in Ottawa, and everytime I have to take a bus, it hits home just how shitty Metro Transit really is. Yup, a person can eat AND drink while on OC Transpo vehicles, AND you’re going to get where you’re going…ON TIME! And yes, the busses are always pretty clean. Perhaps if Metro Transit busses were CLEANED once in a while, there wouldn’t be grime all over, left over from when a passenger could bring food and drink on board.
Maybe the author of this bitch wouldn’t be so bitchy if s/he didn’t have to enforce rules that make public transit that much more irritating.
Yeah there’s more to the story. I told a lady getting on the bus with two kids, one in a stroller the other about seven years old with a hotdog in his hand that he could not bring the almost all eaten dog on the bus. I was not rude to her. She shows me her one and only transfer and I ask where the older boy’s transfer is. Of course I get a song and danse about she did pay for him but only got one transfer. So I tell her if you pay for two then get two transfers. I allowed her and her child on even though I know she did not pay his fare. We are damned if we do do our jobs and damned if we don’t. So the guy in question obviously heard me tell the woman the boy was not allowed to take the hotdog on and decided to stick his nose in my buisness.
it be otay bus driving person…i feel your pain
Ahh, makes sense now, Wheels.
Problem is, you’re at the front lines which means you’re the one who gets the brunt of the crap regarding stupid management policies.
And FYI to everyone who wants to drink coffee/tea in the morning on the bus: you CAN bring a reusable mug on the bus with you. As long as it has a secure lid. Just like you can bring drinks with closed tops on them (water bottles and pop bottles, for instance).
And just be discreet and you can get away with eating on the bus (sitting at the back helps too :P)
No good deed goes unpunished Wheels. Sorry if I came across as a bit cunty; humidity brings out the worst in me.
I think it has become obvious now in the comments, but I was not the author of this one.
That out of the way, the reason disposable cups aren’t allowed on is the risk of spillage onto other passengers and/or seats they sit in. I’m sure most of LTWWB has been on a bus when the brakes on the bus go slam slam slam, holding onto anything can be hard. Refillable mugs are the best investment a transit rider can make.
If the rider has a bag/purse on them, I just ask them to put it inside that until they get off the bus. That way, if they learn why the policy exists, it’s their stuff that suffers, not everyone else’s.
I will also suggest, as OP has, to not inject yourself into a dispute. This only makes things worse for all parties involved.
Words of Wisdom PDG, especially the last bit. Didn’t think it was you; it didn’t have your style. >; ) Maybe tomorrow I’ll try and settle down. >: )
…until tomorrow, I’ll just keep moving on….
It is because some idiot thought it was a good idea to buy buses with all fabric seats. Yummy. It makes my skin crawl.
The change in bus purchasing is illogical and has the all the hallmarks of patronage.
bed bugs on buses…could be next. yikes
I’m sure they are already. The bus interior cleaning is totally insufficient. They are filthy. I have to wash my hands after I get off the bus to remove all the diesel dust and filth from the uncleaned handholds.
Haven’t we been tearing carpets up for the last twenty years? You’d think they’d know better.
I bet they went with them because the old vinyl ones would crack. The seats on the ferries are perfect. Near indestructable, easily cleanable and large enough for a Canadian ass.
The OP’s first line was “To the guy who asked me if we allow grocery bags on the bus”
I don’t think you heard the guy correctly, he was asking if you allow GROSS OLD BAGS on the bus, as in Leatherface – see above.
Oldhand: you obviously haven’t traveled many other public transit systems other than MT. Well I have and I’ve seen primarily fabric seats…so I DOUBT it’s about patronage.
Simple fact is, fabric seats absorb more, so if someone spills something on it, the puddle of liquid won’t stay there. Might sound gross, but more practical in the grand scheme of things.
Also: you expect to NOT have to wash your hands after using any form of public transit? I’d think it would only be good hygiene to wash your hands frequently, especially after touching high traffic areas. I’d hate to see you have to use the subway in Toronto, lol.
Use a travel mug you guys, stop sneaking paper drink cups onto the bus. That way you can drink your morning coffee on the bus blatantly and with no fear of confiscation 🙂 Keeps it warmer longer, too!
The fabric seats disgust me too 😛 I thought about them on a hot day…when someone is sitting on the bus and it’s super hot out, they’re going to sweat like crazy on the bus. Imagine, someone’s ass sweat on the chair you just sat down on. Makes me cringe :(:(! And I don’t think they clean those buses at all. They may sweep but you can tell they never clean the nasty seats!
I don’t think you can clean fabric seats on a daily basis with any kind of efficiency. Standing is a good option. And don’t try the Kurt Browning method of drying fabric seats. Cue Talking Heads: “Burning Down The House”…