I drove a bus the other day with doors that took for ever to open and close. Actually they took about 4 seconds, which is 3 seconds more than most bus doors. Now 3 seconds doesn't sound much but each time you stop to load or unload passengers it adds up to 6 seconds. Do that 10 times and it is a minute extra on the journey. Between Newton and Brixham you can do it 30 times which is 3 minutes. That is almost 4% of the journey time just waiting for the doors to open and close.
Then there are the other problems.
The bell rings, as you pull into the stop you check the inside mirror, only one person is getting off and there is no one at the stop. As you stop you press the red button to open the doors, the person gets of as soon as there is space between the opening doors to do so. You press the green button to close the doors, check the mirror, the road is clear and pull away. 100 yards up the road a glance at the dash to check the speed and what is glaring up at you. The red light that comes on when the bell has been rung. But has it? Is it still on from the last person who just got off. You see, it only goes out if the doors are opened fully. And you didn't let the doors open fully. Well the passenger had got off hadn't he? So now you have to stop at the next stop. If you don't there is bound to be a little voice in your ear saying, "You've missed my stop." Oh dear.
Even if you carry on and no voice appears some one will ring the bell eventually and while that red light is glaring at you the bell wont ring. (A system designed to stop little darlings getting up your nose by ringing the bell a couple of hundred times when they wish to get off.) So you stop, open the doors, close the doors and drive away. No one got on or off and the remaining passengers are now wondering; did you take your medication this morning. Oh, and more time lost.
Next problem is the bus is a low floor bus. If any one who is infirm or elderly or has a baby buggy or is very young or carrying shopping or has a shopping basket on wheels we can press a big black button which releases air from the front left suspension and lower the floor. It makes it easier for them to get on. So we pull up at the stop and if any of the above group are there we press the red button, put the hand brake on and press the black button. The floor goes down and everyone gets on. (note; I know the hand brake should got on first but it's quicker and just as safe that way). Problem is the floor will not go down until the doors have completely opened but people start to get on as soon as they are slightly open. You can't lower the floor now. You do not have a clear sight of the toes of any one still standing on the pavement (sidewalk). It is possible to inflict a lot of damage to a big toe with an 11 tonne bus and a black button. Result: the infirm, elderly, baby buggy pushers and all those in the above group take longer to get on and think you are being mean for not lowering the floor.
And an other problem is some, only a very, very few, one or two maybe, I have to admit, of our passengers think we are opening the doors slowly on purpose just to annoy them and have a go at us."Get the ****ing door open you ****ing ****ing ****." was one comment an enlightened customer made to me one time. Which of course the rest of the passengers had to listen to. And me as well.
There are a few more problems I am sure but I was up at 6 am and it is now 11:35 and I am falling asleep at the keyboard. ZZzzzzzzzz......
4 comments:
The bus I catch every morning does that. I always think, shall I get on as soon as the door opens, or wait until it's all the way open?
I wait, because you can guarantee if I didn't I'd get my bag caught on it and make a complete fool of myself in front of everyone.
Regarding the big black button, I've been curious about how the bus went up and down ever since I started catching it a few months ago. In fact, that's what got me reading your blog in the first place. I was looking for clues.
I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who obsessively figures out how much time some balky piece of equipment is costing. I was afraid that was some kind of obsessive/compulsive disorder symptom. We have one series of buses that won't kneel until you have closed the door, put the bus in neutral and set the parking brake. You pull into the stop, half way through loading a crowd of people one of them announces that he has bad knees; would you please lower the bus? They will then stand in the doorway, hanging onto the handrail, while you shout, louder and louder and louder, "Please step back, I have to close the door to lower the bus." After a few minutes they might hear you. Then they say, "Don't yell at me. Just lower the bus you idiot." If you can get them to understand, everyone else waiting for the bus will start beating on the side of the bus and screaming when the door closes. After you lower the bus and reopen the door, every single one of them will have imagined that you were about to drive off and leave them when they stopped you by pounding on the bus and screaming. They will, each and every one of them, make it a point to tell you what they think of you for almost leaving them stranded. I like to remind myself that they are paying for the privilege of speaking to me that way, while I am being paid to listen to them.
I like the old doors better, they could be opened in flight. Just open them, shout "anyone want this stop?", if no-one moves keep going!
We have one (fortunatly only the one) bus where you cannot move off until the doors are closed. That's fine - nice and safe.
However once the doors are closed and the handbrake released then there is a delay, anything between two and twenty seconds before the brake is actually released and the bus can move. During this time if you have put on your indicator to pull out and somebody stops to wave you into the traffic they are left there wondering what you are playing at by not moving. Eventually they give up and drive past and you can see them muttering to themselves.
Obviously they won't be in a hurry to give way to buses again.
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