To Help Bus Drivers:
Be ready to board. A bus driver’s job is to transport people from place to place safely and on time. Holdups due to slow passengers have a cumulative effect:
A bus that waits for one rider at every stop can turn into a 30-minute delay, says Lurae Stuart, a 17-year veteran of TriMet, the public transportation system of Portland, Oregon.Don’t chat with the driver. It’s one thing to say a friendly hello and thank-you, but drivers need their full attention to drive safely.Understand that the driver doesn’t make the rules. The transit agency does. If you don’t like them, try to enact change by going to public forums rather than giving the driver an earful.Stop for school buses. Antsy car drivers regularly run the buses’ stop signs, ignoring the danger and chance of a fine, says Karen Barnes, a veteran school-bus driver and a route coordinator in Austin, Texas.
