Talk about getting it wrong. Sorry, Seattle Transit Riders Union, but I’m going to drop a little truth bomb on you. (Let me just apologize for saying “truth bomb” first, and for the whole overly dramatic set-up, in fact.)
Tonight, November 15, is the inaugural meeting of Seattle transit rider unioneers, complete with appearance by James Bible of the King County NAACP. In apparent counter-programming, SDOT is holding a Transit Master Plan Open House the same night: 6-8 p.m. at the Ballard High School Library (1418 NW 65th St.).
Here is how STU are characterizing the necessity for their existence: “Why do we need a Transit Riders Union?”
- Deep bus service cuts were only narrowly avoided in King County…
- Public transit is under attack in cities across the country…
- Unemployment is rising and social services are shrinking…
- The planet is warming and natural resources are dwindling…
- The global economy is in crisis…
Only one of those items–the deep bus service cuts–is likely to rouse people enough to attend a public meeting. We happen to know that because it already did. The rest are just mainly tongue-clucking “concerns” that leave people feeling disempowered, more than anything. “Seattle Transit Union Saves Global Economy” is not a headline you’re going to read soon. Except right here, and that wasn’t a real headline, so save the letters.
Luckily, I am here to explain why we need a Transit Union, based upon my having taken the bus yesterday. We need a Transit Union because Seattle is full of people who like things to go smoothly, and who grow frustrated not so much when it doesn’t, as when there is no way to suggest and implement improvements. There are a million little pieces to a working Metro system, and bus passengers, over time, become intimately familiar with most that have to do with other people.
On the way downtown, on the #10, sometime past Broadway on Pine, I saw two men erupt in disagreement over something, one moving decidedly away from the other. I had my headphones in, so was never able to determine what instigated it, but did hear the middle-aged man in an orange tracksuit apologize to the man who’d taken offense.
We were already running late–the driver had arrived at his second stop on the run 5 minutes behind and yawning, as if from a nap, and managed to coast a bit past every stop on the way, coming to a halt next to a pole, usually, that people had to insinuate themselves around to get on or off. Occasionally he stopped for no one.
Orange-tracksuit man decided if his apology wasn’t going to be taken, he might get off the bus. He stood in the aisle at the stop, explaining to a compatriot the intricacies of his decision. “Respect the game,” he told the still-offended party. “Respect the game.” Then he remained standing there.
“Go on off the bus!” said a woman, finally. “How about you respect my kids–I’m gonna be late to pick them up.”
“Respect the game,” repeated the man in the orange tracksuit.
“Respect my kids!” repeated the woman.
Nursing his bruised dignity, the man made his way down the stairwell as if it were a kind of red carpet that might any moment turn to banana peels.
On the way back, I hopped on a #10 via the back door, because an inebriated Native American woman was locked in a dispute with the driver at the front. We traveled to the next stop, the end of the Ride Free Area at the Convention Center, and the driver demanded that the woman exit the bus. She refused. The bus was full coming from downtown, and we all sat there a few minutes.
The operator told her, finally, that he was going to call for Metro security. He got off the bus, and unhooked the electric poles from the wires above. Savvier bus riders began to flee the bus. I thought this couldn’t take that long, and stayed put. “I have called my supervisor,” the operator told us, “so we will have to wait until they arrive.” More people beat it toward the exit.
A man up front in a hoodie began remonstrating with the woman. “Shut up, crackhead!” she told him, and went on to detail her complete abstention from any kind of drug. “What’s going on?” demanded a man at the back of the bus, taking off his headphones. “What’s going on with the bus?”
“Ask him,” the woman said, meaning the operator. “Ask him!”
“What’s the problem?” asked the man. “What’s wrong? I’m gonna be late.” He fished out his wallet. “Here, I’ve got five bucks if you get off the bus.” The woman remained unmoved, arms folded, enjoying I think her fierce certainty of being in the right before the lesser crowd that remained aboard. We sat for a bit more, and then the man said, “Shoot, I can walk there faster,” and made his way to the front to exit. Passing the woman, he said, “You best move on if you don’t want to go to jail, they called the police.”
She pondered this and, in a minute, slowly made her way off the bus. We remained stopped. Now that the operator had called for assistance, he was required to stay there until it arrived. It had been 10 or 15 minutes, so the next #10 was pulling up behind us, and I hopped off just as Metro security arrived. The aggrieved woman had wandered up the hill a ways, then back down to the front door of the bus, and they began questioning her.
In all, a half-hour round-trip took well over an hour, and yet nothing went terribly wrong. It’s just that it cemented, for most passengers I’d guess, the feeling that public transit is simply not something you can rely on for timely service, and what would you complain about, anyway? Who would care?
A transit union would, in theory. A transit union would be made up of the 50 people who had to disembark a bus because one person wouldn’t. It would be made up of the thousands upon thousands of people who arrived to their destination late, with nothing but a shrug and “the bus!” to show for it. Seattle’s bus passengers are burning to contribute to a fruitful discussion about Metro security, operator training, and how to get people to ready their fare ahead of time. It’s not just crochets, it’s an impulse to avoid the snags in the current of daily life.
If the Seattle Transit Riders Union can stay focused on that, they, like the Cascade Bicycle Club, could quickly grow into a megaphone that the city, SDOT, and King County Metro would have no choice but to respond to.
A little bit of traffic management (if streetcars can time traffic signals, why can’t buses?) and passenger flow (most buses have two doors, why not use them?) would do wonders for the timeliness and experience of the bus ride. Maybe ejector seats, too?
Let’s just move ejector seats up to the top of the list, shall we? :)
Michael. Thanks for raising some issues about transit service in the City. I agree that a transit union can be helpful in the effort to improve public transit service in this City. I do have to ask, why you made the choice to be explicit about the ethnicity of the inebriated passenger in your story, when you did not do so for any of the other characters described (e.g. the man in tracksuit, the other participant in the altercation on the way downtown, the people who got off the bus). Why was it necessary to add that note, “Native American,” and what did it add to your story? Does that type of selective use of racial/ethnic identifier have an impact on anyone else, apart from the woman you’ve just mentioned? I think it does in a negative way. Just food for thought/ reflection. Thanks.
Hi, Kevin, good question. While the passenger appeared inebriated, at least in the time I was aboard the bus, she wasn’t that disruptive. I don’t know the circumstances of why the operator wanted her to disembark, but it occurred to me that, being Native American, she might have been upset at treatment she construed as directed at her ethnicity. So in this case it’s salient–I can understand being pissed off because you think you’re being dismissed as a “drunk Indian.”
Although again, this is just surmise. No one where I was sitting had any clue what was going on. That adds to the Kafkaesque air, where an entire bus full of people is put out of service because there’s “some disagreement” between a single passenger and an operator.
You might also consider (if you’re capable of any brand of contemplative empathy) that this operator had problems on board the bus with that passenger in the past.
Wow – what complete bullshit. Drivers aren’t allowed to yawn during an 8 hour shift (or what is sometimes up to a 16 hour day)? And the reason that drivers coast past waiting passengers is that too many of them stand with their toes against the curb – making it likely that the door will hit them when opening.
As to not stopping for passengers – did you in your voluntarily deaf (headphones) state happen to notice if there was another #10 right behind? When this happens, stopping at each stop makes BOTH buses more late, and operators are allowed to skip stops where there may be waiting passengers.
How exactly would you propose that Metro keep people from arguing, prevent the inebriated from boarding, etc.? How would a transit rider’s union accomplish this?
What complete blather.
Jeff, I consider a lot of things, thanks for the suggestion. I think, and write, about how hard bus operators have it, and protest when they’re smeared as overpaid easy-street types. You could do a search, I’ve written a few posts. Look for the one you commented on, quoting me and saying, “Bingo!”
As I say, I have no idea what this particular problem was, and I don’t have any interest in being a back-of-the-bus operator. But taking an entire bus out of service can’t be an optimal solution to a single (sort of) disruptive passenger. Someone was probably in the right, and someone in the wrong, but that didn’t make the bus go.
As for the rest, you seem to have misread what I wrote (the operator stopped for an empty stop when no one on board had requested a stop), or have imagined excuses without being there and ignored the parts that don’t fit (stopping in front of a pole isn’t great driving). If an operator can’t make it through a 16-hour day without grogginess–understandably–maybe the takeaway is that 16-hour days are too long.
“Making the bus suck less” isn’t about placing blame or finding excuses: it’s just looking at things from a passenger’s perspective, determining if things can be improved, and prioritizing what to push for. Your tactic of minimizing a passenger’s experience as bullshit and blather is exactly why a Transit Union is called for.
Despite what you claim – this piece hardly portrays drivers’ issues. The yawning crack – what the heck was that about? Do YOU ever yawn in the course of your day? Since when does a yawn translate to “grogginess”. Sheesh. You are completely ridiculous, and elitist.
And I’m STILL looking for actual constructive suggestions from you (beyond the ejector seat idea) on how to make riding the bus “suck less”. This particular monotribe comes across more as a bunch of whining from an out of touch yuppie who tends to look down his nose at others.
As to “taking the bus out of service” – drivers are the target of numerous assaults each year (as are passengers) from disruptive riders. Our instructions are to call in issues as they arise and follow instructions that we’re given. Are you really suggesting that holding the entire bus captive in proximity to this on-board conflict would have been a better solution than what the driver did (and was instructed to do)?
As to making stops when nobody requested a stop, we have what are called “time points” which we must adhere to. In short – we’re not allowed to be early and must occasionally stop the bus and “hold for time” to allow the clock to catch up to the schedule.
Not that you appear to care about actual facts or explanations – just how something you don’t understand (or care to) affects YOU.
Clueless much?
Looking forward to those actual solutions – and less whining. I characterize your article (not your experience) as bullshit and blather because that’s exactly what it is. BTW – operators (including ATU 587 board members) are actively participating in the TRU, and were at the meeting the other night.
Personally, I think Michael must have really struck a nerve with you Jeff. Are you that driver? Just wondering.
I think Michael brings up some very valid points. I don’t get why YOU are offended. He didn’t personally attack you, he made statements about the transit system in general. And those items SHOULD be dealt with. Or is your preferred method of problem solving to stick your head in the sand and pretend it will all get better on it’s own?
As the old saying goes: You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.
Which side are you on?
No, I do not drive the #10, but I do drive lots of other routes, have occasionally yawned, run behind schedule, stopped the bus at an empty zone to “hold for time”, drifted past people standing at zones (again some “hang-ten” so close to the curb the door would hit them when it opened if it did otherwise or they’d lunge onto the bus without first allowing others to exit), and brought that 30-ton vehicle to a stop in proximity to a pole (front and/or back door).
NONE of these are “valid points” nor are his others on how the driver dealt with onboard security issues. They are nitpicky, whiny bullshit.
What “problems” has Michael identified? Let’s see a list of bullet points? What “solutions” has he (or you) proposed: answer “make riding the bus suck less”. Wow. I didn’t know they had so many middle-aged looking dudes with beards writing blogs from the Jr. High lunchroom.
I am part of the solution. Now feel free to do a better job identifying the “problem” (I propose that a bus driver observed yawning does not constitute a ‘problem’), and at least make a minimal effort at offering some possible solutions beyond “make riding the bus suck less”.
-jw
Want a list of real problems and solutions?
Here’s are some realities for all of us, be we riders (I not only drive buses, I ride them and so does my family):
-everyone is allowed on the bus, even the intoxicated
-drivers are extremely limited in how we can respond to problem passengers either before or during their ride on the bus
-passengers are allowed to use cell phones to call for help and look up information – drivers can be suspended merely for having a cell phone on their person which is turned on
-passengers are allowed to carry semi-automatic weapons – drivers can be suspended for having so much as a cannister of pepper spray on a key chain
-schedules are not written by drivers – they’re written by Schedulers using software to predict the often unpredictable (traffic patterns; obstacles; passenger load variances; and mechanical issues
-operating trolley buses (such as the #10) offers particular challenges involving the nature of the equipment, the diversity of the customer base, the frequency of operation (sometimes with as little as 10-15 minute headway) and a lack of prompt support from SPD and/or Metro Transit Security
-Operating buses on narrow city streets – like on Madison, 15th, etc. – can be difficult as lanes are narrow, cars often park at an unsafe distance from the curb, and signs, etc. have frequently been placed at close proximity to the curb (1 foot or less)
-passengers themselves are often ignorant of bus rules and etiquette – a reality not based on socioeconomic status so much as a general lack of awareness or experience riding. Standing right next to the curb risks collission with a bus mirror or door as it opens. Many passengers (often staring into the screens of their phones) reflexively begin loading when the front door opens – without first allowing passengers to exit.
-lots more.
So Michael and Nick – what do I propose to “make the bus suck less” at least from a bus driver’s perspective? First and foremost to communicate about some of the challenges that we as Operators face in the day to day doing of our jobs.
Stereotyping is a biggle. There are a heck of a lot of us out here with college degrees who have joined the profession after prior careers. We have book authors, nurses, teachers, social workers, and ministers in our ranks. Having become a driver at age 42 myself after 20 years in nonprofit organizations and a lot of other jobs – I can say with confidence that the people that I’ve encountered at Metro as drivers, supervisors, and administrators are among the finest, smartest, and hardest working that I’ve ever met.
So what YOU can do to “make riding the bus suck less” for starters is to give us a bit of a break. Understand that we may face challenges that you do not see; that we face barriers that you may not be aware of; that we darn well care very much that your ride is a safe and if not enjoyable at least not a frightening or “sucky” one.
And forgive us if we yawn once inawhile for crying out loud.
-w
“… inebriated Native American woman was locked in a dispute with the driver at the front.”
Gee, would you have written “inebriated Caucasian woman” or “inebriated black woman”?
I sure hope not. You might want to examine your prejudices.