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....still waiting for that book
Yeah, me too!!!
I wonder if there's a site for Transit Bus Operators or, Greyhound/Trailways drivers. I bet they would have some tales to tell.
Driving a bus: The only driving job(with the exception of livestock) where the freight talks back!!!
Back around 1990 I had a spat with the boss and tried to "broaden" my horizons by hiring on with the local transit company in Raleigh. The company, Capital Area Transit, hired me(what a shock) and I went through the obligatory training. To say the job was extremely interesting would be an understatement. I used my POV to learn each and every route the system had which made my solo appearance on the streets much less painful, not so sure about the passengers though!
One strict rule was enforced, DO NOT TOUCH THE PASSENGERS!
Well, all was going swimmingly for about a month or so, I landed a steady run and managed to keep the commuting Raleigh people happy with the exception of the select few that no one could ever please.
One particular morning run was just winding down when a lady passenger got on and sat behind me. I will add here that the partition between the driver and the first passenger seat was missing. Just as we approached the downtown area I felt something in my hair which was shoulder length. I looked up in the mirror and asked the lady what she was doing. She told me she loved my hair and then asked if I was single. I was shocked by the question and did tell her that I was not single and the hair was not mine either!!!
Needless to say I gassed on the throttle to make a quick ride to the downtown depot.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that driving a city bus in a college town(NC State) can be a real eye opening adventure as some of the late night runs had proven, especially on Friday night!! :shock:
A wise person had once coined the phrase "All good things must come to an end" The person was wise beyond their years. The bus gig came to an abrupt end on a Thursday morning when a dude boarded the bus and proceeded to give me a rash of shit over the fare, I tried real hard to avoid a confrontation with this person but when he spit on me the "golden" rule went out the window, unfortunately a supervisor was at the stop when the dude flew back out the door.
I just stepped off the bus handed the supervisor my load count, wandered to a pay phone, called the wife then the boss and went back on the road.
I did have to answer to a commision set up by the Mayor of Raleigh, I stood my ground explaining that I will tolerate alot of stuff but someone spitting on me was not on the tolerence list.
So much for the career change!