Bus Bunching

[cta_44499_FG]

I recently was opted to post a reply on Carole Brown's website about frequent complaints of busses being bunched up on the #77 Belmont route. Anyone have anything to add based on what I wrote below? Anyone who simply does not understand why the busses bunch? Or do you simply assume that all CTA employees are lazy as some of the "extremely rare" yet out there nimrods I deal with daily think but have no working knowledge of how busses work or the logics behind bus operations in general?

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I drive the 77 Belmont route often and without any disrespect I would like to know if you have any understanding as to why the busses bunch up, why it takes so long, etc. Or do you simply blame it on the drivers all the time?

Where exactly do you board at? The reason I'm asking is because the busses on the 77 route start at several different points along the route. From the official end of the line at Cumberland (8400W/3200N), morning busses pulling out from the garage do not all go to Cumberland, they start as follows:

1- eastbound from Belmont/Cumberland (Full trips)

2- eastbound from Belmont/Octavia (7300W/3200N) -short turns

3- eastbound from Belmont/Central (5600W/3200N) -AM short pullouts

4- eastbound from Belmont/Kimball (3400w/3200N) (Depending on time of day)

Now, keep in mind that I'm speaking from a driver's perspective. From Cumberland east, there is usually heavy traffic from Menard (5800W) east to Central, Lavergne (5000W) to Cicero (4800W), and then from Pulaski (4400W) all the way to Kimball (3400W), which is a heavy feeder for the Kennedy expressway. Now keep in mind that since all of these busses start at different points along the route, if the full trip (for example) is late, one of the short trips starts to catch up and may indeed pass that bus up, and now an on-time bus is doing the work of a late bus thus forcing it to be late in respect to its schedule. Multiply this pattern by several busses, and its very easy for two or three busses to show at one time, or "bus bunching" as its more logically called.

Perhaps this may sound like a play on words, but it really isn't. I've worked with some lazy drivers, but with them outside of that factor, traffic does indeed play a major role in your observations. Keep in mind you board at one point along the route, a driver like myself gets the perspective along the "entire" route. Belmont/Cumberland to the lakefront is a LONG trip and a lot of things happen on that long stretch that passengers don't necessarily see. I've been in many situations where I leave the terminal on time per schedule and just to reach the next timepoint I was already 10+ minutes late due to traffic conditions and etc, and then the next bus falls to the same problem, and by the time the busses emerge from the backup...you have 2 or 3 together.

Handicapped/disabled/elderly passengers, "problem" passengers (door blockers, "word revolves around me" passengers who seem to intentionally take their time, and the few that expect you to wait for them and their friends) only contribute to the problem. And I am in no way putting blame on anyone directly, but every factor counts in a driver's effectiveness to remain on schedule.

I used to think drivers played around until I got an inside perspective for myself when I started working for CTA about a year in a half ago. NOw my perspective is different.

Perhaps this will give you a better scope of how and why these things may occur. Any further questions please ask, I'm more than happy to help if I can. In the meantime, push the state legislators to give additional funding and perhaps get more service on an already disasterously buzy thoroughfare.

[trainman8119]

Handicapped/disabled/elderly passengers, "problem" passengers (door blockers, "word revolves around me" passengers who seem to intentionally take their time, and the few that expect you to wait for them and their friends) only contribute to the problem.

Good Post, better explanation !!! This part of your post caught my eye though. These are the people who cause the most problems (you forgot about bikers) and are the loudest when it comes to complaints. Unfortunatley, also, these are the people the suits like to listen to and why I am against too much public input when service issues are discussed and why politicians in control is a bad thing. They don't have a clue as to how service operates, what causes problems and what should be done to correct things. Bunching will always be a problem. That is why you have short turns and maybe there should just be more of them on longer routes (maybe Pace does have it right with the 290). Belmont is a bitch to drive on in a car...I can imagine how it is on a bus. In fact, when I lived there I stayed off that route for that reason, unless necessary. Putting more buses on route will not solve the problem, probably just make it worse...unless you do the short turn thing...maybe not a bad idea.

[cta_44499_FG]

Good Post, better explanation !!! This part of your post caught my eye though. These are the people who cause the most problems (you forgot about bikers) and are the loudest when it comes to complaints. Unfortunatley, also, these are the people the suits like to listen to and why I am against too much public input when service issues are discussed and why politicians in control is a bad thing. They don't have a clue as to how service operates, what causes problems and what should be done to correct things. Bunching will always be a problem. That is why you have short turns and maybe there should just be more of them on longer routes (maybe Pace does have it right with the 290). Belmont is a bitch to drive on in a car...I can imagine how it is on a bus. In fact, when I lived there I stayed off that route for that reason, unless necessary. Putting more buses on route will not solve the problem, probably just make it worse...unless you do the short turn thing...maybe not a bad idea.

well i was aiming to say betterly apportionated service, probably a bad choice of words. However there are days when the existing service doesn't seem to be enough.

[Busjack]

1. Replying on Ask Carole is worthless, except to further a discussion among participants, but not with Carole.

2. As far as bus bunching, maybe, as a driver, you can give us some perspective on what the "street supervisors" do, since from the rider's perspective, it appears to be nothing.

Various reasons for bunching have been given in the press, and discussed in the Bustracker topic. You discuss the causes without the possible cures. Even assuming that it is caused by traffic and balky passengers, it apparently isn't remedied for such reasons as CTA having an operating practice of an empty trailer not going around a full laggard, the supervisor not knowing what happens until the buses reach the terminal, CTA not following NY's practice of changing the sign on the lead bus to "Next Bus Please" and following a policy that the driver cannot pass a stop, apparent unwillingness to short turn a bus (that has been disputed in that forum), etc. For instance, the worst example I saw was on 79th a couple of years ago, where an articulated was trailing two 40 footers. Now, if as indicated in the article on expanding Bustracker, if it is used to give the supervisors information and resolve irregularities, that would be an improvement. However, does anyone have information about it in fact being used for that purpose on 20 Madison?

[cta_44499_FG]

1. Replying on Ask Carole is worthless, except to further a discussion among participants, but not with Carole.

2. As far as bus bunching, maybe, as a driver, you can give us some perspective on what the "street supervisors" do, since from the rider's perspective, it appears to be nothing.

Various reasons for bunching have been given in the press, and discussed in the Bustracker topic. You discuss the causes without the possible cures. Even assuming that it is caused by traffic and balky passengers, it apparently isn't remedied for such reasons as CTA having an operating practice of an empty trailer not going around a full laggard, the supervisor not knowing what happens until the buses reach the terminal, CTA not following NY's practice of changing the sign on the lead bus to "Next Bus Please" and following a policy that the driver cannot pass a stop, apparent unwillingness to short turn a bus (that has been disputed in that forum), etc. For instance, the worst example I saw was on 79th a couple of years ago, where an articulated was trailing two 40 footers. Now, if as indicated in the article on expanding Bustracker, if it is used to give the supervisors information and resolve irregularities, that would be an improvement. However, does anyone have information about it in fact being used for that purpose on 20 Madison?

Well, in my opinion that could be one of the reasons to expand bus tracker. Take a route like #56 Milwaukee. The supervisor is all the way up at Jefferson Park, the northern terminal. The route extends from Jeff Park to Madison/Wabash, therefore its hard for a supervisor so far up north to made a decision until the bus reaches him. My thing with that brings me the conclusion that there simply are not enough "mobile" supervisors available to monitor the routes. Many times a severe delay of multiple busses, say over two together, can be avoided before the delay becomes uncurable, but there is a lack of supervisors to authorize it. I could think of many places to short turn a bus, but since it is a violation do so without approval, drivers themselves cannot do it LEGALLY, and I'm not one to take that risk.

What I think needs to be brought back is some of the scheduled short turns that dissapeared many years ago. Such as #36 Broadway busses turning short from Broadway/Waveland and every other #77 Belmont bus short turning at Belmont/Octavia during PM rush, apparently because it aggrivated passengers, but at the same time passengers would complain when being thrown off at the last stop. I've had this sitation on #56 Milwaukee when I would turn back from Logan Square, and dispite the face that my sign would ready "56 to LOGAN SQ" and I would even MENTION it...there are some passengers who simply do NOT listen. If CTA is to bring back such a practice, they need to educate passengers to not be ignorant of the destination sign.

As far as an empty bus following ones packed to the hills, trailing busses can only be blamed on either 1) a lazy driver or 2) an on-time bus following a late bus to prevent from running ahead of its schedule. However, I don't see it justifiable when the on time bus can easily pass and pick up and simply hold back a minute from the time point to allow the late bus to pass by and even possibly prevent himself from arriving early, since running "hot" is against CTA regulations. However, I personally agree that in some situations a bus running "hot" CAN BE JUSTIFIED.

[cta_44499_FG]

Oh yeah, this question is to you Robert. Why is it that destination sign code books are still circulated, but the CleverDevice does not ALLOW you to select anything more merely than trip patterns? I know these codes are "hidden" someplace, because I've tinkered with NABIs that have the Luminator pad uncovered and no working AVL, and the sign is changable...something many drivers never noticed and simply plastered a paper sign on their bus.

Would it not be more useful to encourage Clever Devices to perhaps make it possible to put in a special "manual display mode" that allows a driver to enter a destination code for a short turn uncommonly used and not displayable otherwise?

SUCH AS: 147 Outer Drive Express to FOSTER, 151 Sheridan to BRYN MAWR? these code do exist as far as I know, but only work on busses still using Luminator and Vultron sign controls.

[Busjack]

Take a route like #56 Milwaukee. The supervisor is all the way up at Jefferson Park, the northern terminal. The route extends from Jeff Park to Madison/Wabash, therefore its hard for a supervisor so far up north to made a decision until the bus reaches him. My thing with that brings me the conclusion that there simply are not enough "mobile" supervisors available to monitor the routes.

But don't drivers communicate with the supervisors, such as through the Orbital system, about these irregularities, or do they just ignore them until the end of the line?

As far as an empty bus following ones packed to the hills, trailing busses can only be blamed on either 1) a lazy driver or 2) an on-time bus following a late bus to prevent from running ahead of its schedule. However, I don't see it justifiable when the on time bus can easily pass and pick up and simply hold back a minute from the time point to allow the late bus to pass by and even possibly prevent himself from arriving early, since running "hot" is against CTA regulations. However, I personally agree that in some situations a bus running "hot" CAN BE JUSTIFIED.

Is it a question of running hot, or as in the examples in Ask Carole, maybe the cause was that the first bus may have been hot, but the next 5 were cold? And in your reply to Chris Gray, you indicate that management won't budge on letting the leader run express (even though they do allow it on the L). That would seem to be the best way to cure a bunching situation. Any idea on what management is thinking (if anything)? And if they don't change their thinking, how can Bustracker work to restore service regularity?

[rmadisonwi]

Oh yeah, this question is to you Robert. Why is it that destination sign code books are still circulated, but the CleverDevice does not ALLOW you to select anything more merely than trip patterns? I know these codes are "hidden" someplace, because I've tinkered with NABIs that have the Luminator pad uncovered and no working AVL, and the sign is changable...something many drivers never noticed and simply plastered a paper sign on their bus.

Would it not be more useful to encourage Clever Devices to perhaps make it possible to put in a special "manual display mode" that allows a driver to enter a destination code for a short turn uncommonly used and not displayable otherwise?

SUCH AS: 147 Outer Drive Express to FOSTER, 151 Sheridan to BRYN MAWR? these code do exist as far as I know, but only work on busses still using Luminator and Vultron sign controls.

Signs can still be changed manually on 4400s, 5300s, and (as you noted) NABIs where the Clever Devices system is broken and the destination sign keypad cover is removed (if the keypad is uncovered but CD works, then CD will just change your sign back to whatever it wants within a couple of seconds).

The sign code sheets are probably still distributed because nobody's really thought to not produce them for the garages that couldn't use them (such as Forest Glen and Archer).

Interestingly enough, I did raise the question once with the former manager of the department responsible for Clever Devices on whether there was any consideration to a modification that would allow manual input of the sign code, and didn't get anywhere. However, now there is a new manager in that department, maybe I can bring up the question again. There are signs we'd like to use for special schedules that can't be displayed (such as 152 to Kimball), and in those situations, I usually put a footnote for the driver to carry some generic sign (like "Blue Line," since it's pretty close to Addison & Kimball). It would be nice to be able to use the codes, though. Hell, it would be nice if they'd actually fix the damn signs so they work.

[Guest]

In terms of bus bunching, the real idiots are the riding public because they see the delay happening to their bus and yet they still have the nerve to blame the driver. I was a frequent operator on Belmont and Irving Park and Milwaukee routes. Its always the same problem with bus bunching. Its so easy to blame the driver for everything, they are basically the punching bags of the CTA.

The public is the problem not the drivers ! But all you can do is try to explain the situation to them when it happens its up to the public to try to understand but you get so tired of explaining yourself all the time. Until dedicated bus lanes or other solutions are implemented, bus bunching at the CTA will always be a constant problem. But dont blame the drivers, its not their fault.

[Busjack]

In terms of bus bunching, the real idiots are the riding public because they see the delay happening to their bus and yet they still have the nerve to blame the driver. ... But dont blame the drivers, its not their fault.

If there wasn't any public, you wouldn't have any job. I don't blame the driver, but prior posts in this thread indicate that supervision and operating rules need to be improved, yesterday.

[Guest]

If there wasn't any public, you wouldn't have any job. I don't blame the driver, but prior posts in this thread indicate that supervision and operating rules need to be improved, yesterday.

There wouldnt be an economy if there wasant public transportation. The public would have no other way to get to work if it wasant for transit systems. The cities would shut down if there werent buses and trains and everyone were in cars. The public dosent realize they need us. Supervisors do not make good decisions because they dont see whats going on. The only reliable eyes and ears are the bus operators themselves.

[Busjack]

There wouldnt be an economy if there wasant public transportation. The public would have no other way to get to work if it wasant for transit systems. The cities would shut down if there werent buses and trains and everyone were in cars. The public dosent realize they need us.

If Huberman goes ahead with his contingency plan, we'll find out. I'm sure that the streetcar companies thought the same thing.

Supervisors do not make good decisions because they dont see whats going on. The only reliable eyes and ears are the bus operators themselves.

I agree with this one. I can't understand how CTA can have such clueless management and supervision. The attitude seems to be don't blame us, and give us more money, despite our inefficiencies and contempt for our customers. (Does DCFS complain that its clients aren't from the best strata of society?) That complacency needs to end, and Ron needs to bring in a new management team. Do I see any drivers disagreeing?

[Guest]

If Huberman goes ahead with his contingency plan, we'll find out. I'm sure that the streetcar companies thought the same thing.I agree with this one. I can't understand how CTA can have such clueless management and supervision. The attitude seems to be don't blame us, and give us more money, despite our inefficiencies and contempt for our customers. (Does DCFS complain that its clients aren't from the best strata of society?) That complacency needs to end, and Ron needs to bring in a new management team. Do I see any drivers disagreeing?

What CTA needs so badly is competent management. CTA has always had a "pass the buck" style mangement, no one wants to be accountable! CTA needs another George Krambles but theyre arent any out there. People who really care about public transit, people who have a passion for the job and the knowledge of how to manage instead of just saying "Ok this route makes no money for us, lets elimainate it!" . The personnel (management) they have running CTA, sorry if I offend anyone out there but in my opinion are very incompetent. You could try to cut in a little history to some CTA management out there, they probably couldnt tell you what a "Green Hornet" is or a "6000" or what year did the last trolley coach run in Chicago!. These may not be important thoughts today but it does tell a lot about what a person knows about transit. You have to know your job, it couldnt be more important at CTA.

I spent 7 years at CTA, granted if I had made CTA a career nd reached managment level I would certainly do my part to try to make it one of the best transit systems in the world. It should be, there is no second place. Los Angeles was thought of once as one of the worst transit systems in the nation, now theyve recovered and they seem to be getting the respect they deserve. They seem to be a system to be reckoned with. New York, what can you say? the subway system is in my opinion the best in the nation!. May not be the cleanest system but those trains are so unbelieveably frequent. Ive been to New York I still wouldnt think of renting a car!

CTA management needs to wake up and realize theyre not the level they should be at. They need to meet with transit managers of other systems and see what theyre doing wrong. Enough of the "pass the buck" attitude at CTA! Lets see some real management.

[Guest]

How are us handicapped and disabled a problem? At least we try to be like you normal people as much as we can and don't complain about stuff constantly. Incase you didn't notice, we need more transportation than the elderly or normal people. Why does everyone blame us for their problems? Everyday we're teased by you guys. Keep in mind I have already sued the CTA once, and I will not wait to do it again if a problem should arise. We try to apologize for being so slow, but that's how were we born, and as far as i'm concerned, everyone was made equal, so please don't judge.

As for the traffic on Belmont, believe it or not, it's actually better than Diversey. Most of the time on #76, there are like 4 buses together and the drivers harshly kick people off, especially the disabled and handicapped. Maybe the CTA doesn't like the disabled/handicapped because we're slower. We should just create a transit angency only for us, the disabled/handicapped.

First, Buslover Did I make any rude or insensitive comments about the disabled or handicapped?? I never made any reference against the disabled or handicapped. I understand they need time to board or alight from a bus, I served with the utmost patience and respect for anyone who was disabled or handicapped, I have recieved commendations from appreciative passengers. Buslover, you do not have the right to judge CTA drivers because they are not all rude and insensitive, I will concede that there are quite a few bad apples out there that made us all look bad. I believe when I was working with CTA I was a patient, contientious and couteous driver but I also drew my boundaries and never let passengers take advantage of or "play" me because of the attitude I brought to the job with me. Basically my attitude was "You treat me right I will treat you right" but also "You play with me, Ill play with you! and I never acted like owned the road like you say. Buslover Im sure you have boarded a bus with a very courteous and patient driver, you cant possibly believe that all CTA drivers are bad. What I was referring to are the riding public who never have their money ready, pull out their wallet or purse after they board, blocking the entrance so that other passengers can pay and looking for their card while 10 other passengers are waiting to board, people trying to walk past without paying, persons trying sneak in through the back doors, people with ten cards not knowing which one has money on it. People walking up to us making obscene gestures because were two or three minutes late. Traffic, Construction, weather. Weather, theres a good one. Its raining or snowing so of course the bus has to conform to much slower speeds which hmmm... also contributes to bus bunching. The baseball games when they let out, like the Cubs games, Irving Pk. Addison theres a good example of buses bunching up. And yet we'll still get badmouth from the pasengers down the street. The simple fact that the riding public does not see it from our view. They never sat in the drivers seat and spend a day as a CTA bus driver. Ultimately, if youve never walked in another man's shoes then dont knock it!

[Guest]

First, Buslover Did I make any rude or insensitive comments about the disabled or handicapped?? I never made any reference against the disabled or handicapped. I understand they need time to board or alight from a bus, I served with the utmost patience and respect for anyone who was disabled or handicapped, I have recieved commendations from appreciative passengers. Buslover, you do not have the right to judge CTA drivers because they are not all rude and insensitive, I will concede that there are quite a few bad apples out there that made us all look bad. I believe when I was working with CTA I was a patient, contientious and couteous driver but I also drew my boundaries and never let passengers take advantage of or "play" me because of the attitude I brought to the job with me. Basically my attitude was "You treat me right I will treat you right" but also "You play with me, Ill play with you! and I never acted like owned the road like you say. Buslover Im sure you have boarded a bus with a very courteous and patient driver, you cant possibly believe that all CTA drivers are bad. What I was referring to are the riding public who never have their money ready, pull out their wallet or purse after they board, blocking the entrance so that other passengers can pay and looking for their card while 10 other passengers are waiting to board, people trying to walk past without paying, persons trying sneak in through the back doors, people with ten cards not knowing which one has money on it. People walking up to us making obscene gestures because were two or three minutes late. Traffic, Construction, weather. Weather, theres a good one. Its raining or snowing so of course the bus has to conform to much slower speeds which hmmm... also contributes to bus bunching. The baseball games when they let out, like the Cubs games, Irving Pk. Addison theres a good example of buses bunching up. And yet we'll still get badmouth from the pasengers down the street. The simple fact that the riding public does not see it from our view. They never sat in the drivers seat and spend a day as a CTA bus driver. Ultimately, if youve never walked in another man's shoes then dont knock it!

You call yourself "Buslover" and yet you get your jollies suing CTA?. And if you think the bus operators are the problem this isnt the site to be airing out your frustrations because there are CTA and former CTA operators, like myself who are on this site. This isnt the place for it. Dont turn this website into your "Rosie" Im angry at the world site!

[Guest]

Hey, I sued the CTA because one of their trucks ran over my foot, causing a severe injury! I am not angry at the world, and I am a buslover, and I have a right to judge anybody, this county was found on basic rights. You don't have to be so mean to me, god man, I freaking said something and here comes a personal attack! I'm not getting banned again for you guys!

Then dont be upset when a CTA driver or another individual judges you!

[trainman8119]

How are us handicapped and disabled a problem? At least we try to be like you normal people as much as we can and don't complain about stuff constantly.

I will disagree with the comment of constant complaints from the disabled. In my days as Pace CS supervisor, there were enough complaints from the disabled to write a book. Some were justified, some were not...and the bottom line was that if the disabled community didn't get their way they were determined to make life miserable for everyone....and that is wrong. Most of the cases I am referring to were along the lines of "don't make us out to be special...we want to be like everyone else" (which is good)...unless that part of being like everyone else meant actually being treated like everyone else...then you had to treat those complaining as being special.

I am not out to make this a debate about bashing or not bashing disabled....just realize that the complaining is there, and in many cases much worse than the "normal" people you describe.

Also realize that because you have to drop a lift or allow added time to board does create delays. It has nothing to do with stating a group of people is a "problem". When Metra started boarding wheelchairs, it added 5 minutes to all train schedules to reflect the added time required. It is a fact that this does slow the process down, just like traffic, just like weather...this is a fact of life, not a bash !!!!!!

[Buslover88]

I have decided to take all my posts down in this thread, as no points have been made.

[Busjack]

Again, we see the problem that CTA is not a "customer focused" organization, like any company that needs to make a profit to survive must be. (Why do you think GM now lets prospective Saturn buyers comparison drive a Honda or Toyota, except to try to convince the buyers that a Saturn is better? CTA doesn't have to do that. As Lilly Tomlin, as Ernestine the telephone operator, said "We don't have to. We're the phone company." Just like CTA, a monopoly whose employees don't care about the customer, because the customer has little choice).

Also, like it or not, the ADA was passed in 1990 (thanks in part to Bob Dole) and there is the mandate that disabled passengers are entitled to mainline service. The ADA has enormously increased the cost of a bus, with the need for lifts or ramps, automated announcements, etc., but we the taxpayers have been paying for that, so be it.

On the other hand, buslover, there is a transit agency created for the disabled. It is called paratransit, and because the CTA claimed it was causing its deficit in 2005, it was turned over to Pace. Notwithstanding that CTA was relieved of that burden, CTA comes back 2 years later with a $100 million deficit, indicating that paratransit wasn't the only cause of the CTA's problem. Also, notwithstanding that, Pace now has a $81 million paratransit deficit. One would have thought that making the mainline services accessible would have reduced the need for paratransit, and that giving Pace responsibility for all of it would have made it more efficient, but neither has happened, at least yet. If you want the details, look at the paratransit funding plan on Julie Hamos's site.

While the disabled is a vocal community, you have others that are just as loud, including the Little Village organization that was complaining about the reroute resulting in the Pink Line (even though ridership reports indicate that few people are riding the 54-O'Hare trains), whoever on the West side (I believe that organization is defunct) that wanted infill stations every couple of blocks on the Green Line, to free-lance people who have convinced John Hilkevitch that they are transit experts, but think paratransit for the elderly violates civil rights laws (I'm not naming names, but you know who I mean).

Finally, as documented in the newspapers, of CTA management, only Frank Kruesi and Terry Levin had used their employee passes (and presumably the system) to more than a minimal extent. So, if bus drivers are going to criticize passengers for not walking in their shoes, riders can criticize the CTA (at least its management) for not riding in their conveyances.

Nobody is smelling like a rose here.

[Busjack]

I have decided to take all my posts down in this thread, as no points have been made.

Unfortunately, it didn't work as others quoted you. However, you probably aren't happy that although I thought you were a bit intemperate (hey, nothing wrong with that), I agreed with most of your points. Here, you did add something to the conversation.

[cta_44499_FG]

I have decided to take all my posts down in this thread, as no points have been made.

i think we all have a misunderstanding here and it needs to stop. this is a forum group to discuss transit, not argue and point fingers at one another.

i understand why you're upset buslover, but keep in mind some of these very same drivers you are upset with are also just as rude and mean to their own co-workers. i had one of my own co-workers yell at me once because i wasn't sure of his final destination because his sign was coded wrong, and all i did was ASK A QUESTION!

so please, i apologize if this topic got things off on the wrong foot since i started it. but i'm not going to apologize for other operators and what they may of done to you because i am not them. i do my best to help anyone, handicapped or not.

that is all i have to say...

[cta_44499_FG]

Unfortunately, it didn't work as others quoted you. However, you probably aren't happy that although I thought you were a bit intemperate (hey, nothing wrong with that), I agreed with most of your points. Here, you did add something to the conversation.

while you are correct busjack, the riders who insult me or my fellow operators are the people who are not entitled to make comments unless they have a constructive understanding of why things are the way they are, not simply "Oh, you guys are late, you must like it!" things like that, or when I had a scheduled short turn at Octavia on 77 Belmont, people would get upset and assume I simply did not want to take them to Cumberland. Like silly things like that.

i have no problem with constructive criticism from individuals who don't know a lot about bus operations, but insults from an individual that knows nothing about bus operations are what is uncalled for. some have valid points, and the minimal few are stupid, ignorant, and just downright rude. i would think that we all agree on that.

[Buslover88]

Thank you, cta_44499_FG. I understand every word you have just said. I didn't mean to insult ALL CTA operators, but dealing with the ones from Chicago Garage makes me weary of most CTA drivers. I like most CTA drivers, not all of them.

I know some riders who just whine like huge babies! One time, back in 2003 I think, on #76, a lady cussed the driver out because the bus short-turned at Pulaski and she threatened to report him to CTA, and he told her he didn't care. While I think it's not that bad if a bus runs late (unless I have something important to do), my mom goes crazy even if a bus is 5 minutes late...some people...a few drivers i've had in the past were very nice, to answer your question, CTA5750.

BTW, today is my birthday.

[Guest]

Thank you, cta_44499_FG. I understand every word you have just said. I didn't mean to insult ALL CTA operators, but dealing with the ones from Chicago Garage makes me weary of most CTA drivers. I like most CTA drivers, not all of them.

I know some riders who just whine like huge babies! One time, back in 2003 I think, on #76, a lady cussed the driver out because the bus short-turned at Pulaski and she threatened to report him to CTA, and he told her he didn't care.

While I think it's not that bad if a bus runs late (unless I have something important to do), my mom goes crazy even if a bus is 5 minutes late...some people...

A few drivers i've had in the past were very nice, to answer your question, CTA5750.

BTW, today is my birthday.

I just wish the riding public would be more sympathetic to CTA drivers and try to understand why a bus arrives late. I dont understand how the very same people who ride CTA buses everyday and clearly see the reasons for delays are complaining about why the bus/driver is late. Everyone sees this everyday, how hard is this to comprehend? Thats why i wish every person who complains about why a bus is late would step into a CTA operators shoes and just see what that operator has to deal with. I dont condone the bad attitudes by CTA drivers, clearly some form of better customer service is needed, but I believe if the public would learn to be more sympathtic and have a better understanding Im sure it will go a long way towards improving customer/CTA employee relations.

In my experiences at CTA (7 years), I learned that a good attitude goes a long way. Maybe not all the time, but it helps when it counted. I learned to tune out the bad atttitudes and just do my job the best I could and if a passenger understands great, if not then I let it go. You cant make the public understand your job, all you can do is explain the situation, its up to the passenger if he/she chooses to believe you.

Bad attitudes didnt get anywhere with me, I blew it off and just did my job because to me "safety" was the most important thing, You dont compromise safety. If I went to work in the morning got my bus and went home in the evening without an incident, I did my job! I brought a positive attitude to the job and I took the positive attitude home with me.

I left CTA in 2005, I now work as a Chicago Firefighter but I still had the passion for driving buses. I now pull for Colonial Coach operating Pace contract routes and I found out i still enjoy it. If I didnt believe anything I say here I wouldnt have gone back to driving buses.