That old “common sense” thingy.

Luckily they were partially right – thanks to my Skecher work boots and a steady press on the air brake pedal.

Had one woman cross in front of my moving bus from the left while she talked on her cell phone – it held to her head with her left hand, her right hand shoved palm up at me to make sure I stopped and waited for her.

So. . .”common sense”? Yeah, you’d think.

Oh – and “bus stop”? What’s a “bus stop”?

Kudos for Metro for trying, but I think it’s kind of a hopeless battle.

I’d rather have machines designed for transit tickets than repurposed parking machines. They cost more but would be easier to use and be more accessible.

The bus you saw at the Monroe fair would be a Swift bus which have hand rails instead of seats in the bendy section.

You would think that would be common sense or something your parents taught you. Or that person was suicidal.

That’s one reason bus stops are placed on the far side of intersections. It reduces the chance someone would try to cross in front of a bus but it isn’t fool-proof.

They forgot to mention “in front of”.

At our store on Capitol Hill located near Broadway & John, we get quite a few people who threaten to call corporate or the police because they didn’t get what they wanted and we refused because they were trying to take advantage of us or get something for nothing. But most of that are just threats, corporate is pretty toothless to begin with and police that he/she called escorted the caller himself off our premises. We have people trying to get “free” water, “free” food, ask for extra stuff that costs more for free, can’t read coupons, and asking to use the restrooms without buying anything (bus drivers and construction workers are welcome). Drunk people and people on drugs who want to use the restroom. People who camp in the store without buying anything or bringing other outside food to eat.

Anyway back to Metro and runners, I see them say this in every service change brochure: “Bus drivers turn their attention to road conditions and traffic when the bus is leaving a bus stop. That is why you should never try to run after or alongside a moving bus; the driver may not see you. Also, drivers are not allowed to stop and pick you up in the street or outside a bus stop. Please, don’t put yourself and others at risk by distracting the bus driver; it could cause a serious accident. Be safe, and NEVER try to stop a moving bus.”

I did in fact have 1 complaint a couple of months ago from someone who said that I closed the back door and pulled away before they could get on the bus at 2nd and Pine (West bound). The back doors close pretty slowly, and that zone is wide open away from the buildings (not like you can’t see passengers waiting in the zone). So what likely happened is that I stopped to let passengers off there, opening both doors, did my mirror check on the right then moved my attention to the left (there’s a switch, a lane change, and a left turn right after that zone – not to mention taxis, horse and carriage riders, etc.). The bus won’t even move until the back door is closed because that releases the rear brake.

So yeah – someone came running up to the bus at the last minute and called in a complaint as I pulled away. This is fairly common, particularly at Atlantic base – where I’ve now had three complaints, more than in the entire previous year driving at Ryerson and East base, where I had none.

Complaint #1: student got of my bus at Seattle Pacific University. As I checked my left and began to pull out to move on to the next zone, had to slam on my brakes as that student had stepped right in front of my bus to cross the street mid-block without even looking. I sounded my horn and hit my brakes (jostling 2 passengers on board) and told her she should use the corner to cross as what she was doing was dangerous. Her call-in complaint: “driver honked his horn at me for no reason, then shouted something unintelligible out the side window. This driver has a severe anger management problem and should be fired.”

Complaint #2: A customer boarded shouting obscenities to a customer service representative into her cell phone. I asked as she boarded if she would finish her conversation before boarding. She shot me a dirty look, told me to go to hell, and continued conversation as she sat down. As we left the zone, other passengers were demanding she be removed. At 3rd and Union, I again asked her to leave the bus, and she again (vocally and profanely) refused. I hit my PRT to contact the coordinator and told her I was summoning security. Before the coordinator responded, she got of the bus, swore at me telling me I was making her late for work, and told me she planned to get me fired.
Her complaint: “driver was rude, forced me off the bus for no reason. Driver should be fired.” Luckily another passenger had called in their own comment on the same incident – backing up my security incident report nearly word for word.

Complaint #3: see above.

Others have threatened to complain – including a “runner” who always dashes to catch my bus at 1st and Denny, which she rides for 2 blocks, getting off at Key Arena. She complained that I pulled away without waiting for her. Her connecting bus is actualy 4 minutes behind my scheduled leave time from that time point, so if she does manage to catch me there, it’s because I’m running 4 or more minutes late.

No other real complaints this shakeup, so far.

Oh – I did have one last shakeup. A regular non-payer who verbally abused me as they left the bus without paying at Harborview, usually with an “f-you”. I told that passenger he should thank the others on board for paying his fare for him. Someone else (not him, some officious type who lectured me on the way out) called it in, and I got in trouble for “belittling” a passenger.

Like I’ve said – no fare enforcement on Metro. We’re not even allowed to mention it.