Waiting for the Bus
By Steve Geller
Published: August, 2001
I spend a lot of time waiting for a bus. Generally, I’m not in much of a hurry, so I browse a newspaper, watch the traffic roaring by or just think. Every so often, I’ll look off in the busward direction, hopefully.
It always makes me feel good when I eventually spot the familiar flat front of an approaching bus. As it gets close to my stop, I take out my pass, and hold it up as a signal flag. The driver spots me, activates his turn signal, swoops into the stop and opens the door.
I have a difference of opinion with some of my fellow bus riders, about the need for signaling the bus. They think that it’s the driver’s responsibility to determine whether there are riders at the stop, so it’s OK to stand motionless. I take the view that, especially when it’s dark, a motionless bus rider looks a lot like a bus pole or a tree. Neither of these objects move when a bus approaches, but I sure do. I think it’s my duty to show that I’m alive, and ready to ride. My fellow riders often get "passed up" – the bus zooms past the stop, which appeared devoid of bus riding life. I have very seldom been passed up. A driver has told me that even in broad daylight, people at bus stop don’t necessarily want to board a bus. Some are eating lunch, enjoying the nice weather, or, in some districts, running a local pharmacy.
People waiting for a bus past the scheduled time, never know whether the bus is slightly delayed, way behind schedule, or the run was dropped completely.
There are plenty of reasons for a bus to be late. Traffic is the big one. Bus riding is supposed to relieve congestion, but until substantially more people choose transit over driving, both buses and cars will be delayed by the congestion they share.
Buses may be delayed by slow boarding. People may be slow getting out their fare; they ask questions; they discover they are boarding the wrong bus and struggle off. Grocery carts and baby strollers take extra time to load. Some people are not very nimble and need a little extra time. Wheelchair lifts are much better than they used to be, but it still takes time to load the wheelchair and secure the rider according to the ADA regulations.
Of course, a bus might break down and be taken out of service. Sometimes the relief driver doesn’t show up at the end of a shift, and there are no extra drivers available. The bus goes back to the barn, and the hapless riders just wait until the next bus, which could be an hour later.
Late buses are a fact of life. Regular bus riders learn to allow for delays. Most of the time, I can catch a bus to where I’m going and not be late. If the bus arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, I’m generally OK. I’m fortunate to have a job which, most of the time, can deal with me being even hour late, but I may have to stay late that day, to finish some task. Exactly once, I was in a hurry to get to a test at work, which had been scheduled with several other people. The bus never showed, and I had to grab a cab to make it to the test on time.
A late bus is a more serious matter for someone who must start work at a particular time, or who has a medical or dental appointment. Even missing the start of a movie can be disruptive. I know a couple who missed reservations at a San Francisco restaurant, when a transbay bus didn’t show. I suppose this should be kept in perspective, because even people who drive cars can be late for an appointment, due to traffic congestion, or the time it took to find a parking space.
Beyond the delay from being late, the major downside from a late bus is crowding. When a bus finally shows up after a delay, it picks up the accumulation of people who were waiting for several scheduled runs, and the bus can get very full.
A bus can be so late that it gets "lapped" – passed by the following bus. This can happen again and again, as each leap-frogging bus is slowed by boarding all those waiting riders. If a bus gets too full, the driver will show the "not in service" sign, and start skipping the stops where nobody wants to get off.
Late buses aren’t always bad. Sometimes I’m surprised to catch an "early" bus, which is the previous one, running behind schedule. Buses aren’t supposed to be early. It’s very annoying to arrive at a stop, before the scheduled time, and watch the bus pulling away. Some drivers try to run "hot" (ahead of schedule) on one part of the line, because they know they’ll be delayed farther down. They are not supposed to do this. There are good reasons to be late, but none to be early.
Here’s an experience I had not long ago, which shows how resilient bus drivers can be. v
I had seen ads on the buses for a benefit concert for the Billy Givens scholarship fund. (Billy Givens was a bus driver killed in 1988, while on duty.) The concert was to be gospel music at a Missionary Baptist church.
On the evening of the concert, I boarded the 51 bus on College Avenue in Berkeley. I thought the ad had said the church was on 8th. I wanted to check the ad again, but my bus was crowded, and I couldn’t get near enough to the ad to read it. I remembered that there was a Missionary Baptist church near 8th & University, so I got off there. The church was where I’d remembered, but there was no sign of a concert. (I later found that the church with the concert was not far away, at 1400 8th).
Well, I thought, what I need to do is have another look at the ad, and get back on track. I can do a fast recovery by grabbing a 51 bus headed back south. I saw a southbound 51 approaching the stop at 6th & University, but heavy traffic from the freeway prevented me from crossing University and catching it. It was already past 7:00PM, the time the concert was to start, but another bus was due soon.
"Soon" turned out to be more than an hour later — 8:09PM. For some reason, no more 51 buses came south for over an hour, even though the schedule shows three other departures during that time. Later, a friend suggested that the buses coming north to turn around at the Marina had been delayed by traffic on College Avenue from a Cal basketball game. This makes sense, because I don’t remember seeing 51 buses coming the other way while I was waiting.
There were about 7 of us waiting at the 6th & University stop, in front of the Berkeley Medical Clinic. All were stolid bus riders, not complaining. But from time to time, one of us would peer at the schedule on the pole, and look puzzled. I had a printed 51 schedule in my coat pocket, which I checked in case the schedule on the pole was wrong. It wasn’t.
By 7:45, I’d given up on the concert, and just wanted to see how late the bus was going to be. In these extreme situations, it’s a point of honor with me not to give in and take a taxi. Traffic from the freeway rumbled by, in surges every time the traffic light changed. I remember a fancy van, with people wearing suits inside; it was labeled "Chic Shuttle". There were various taxis, a stretch limousine and a few tour buses.
About 7:50, a bus approached, coming up University. It had an "out of service" sign. We watched turn left onto 6th then appear again from 7th and go under the overpass. We never saw it again.
We all just passively waited. One guy was laden with groceries in a supermarket shopping cart; I guess he planned to abandon the cart when he boarded the bus. Another guy was reading a book; I got a look at it – "Silence of the Lambs".
When the bus finally appeared at 8:09, we all got on and sat down, grateful to be going somewhere. I never did get to the concert. It was supposed to end at 8:30.
Even on the bus, nobody appeared annoyed or stressed. Well, I was, a little, but if my fellow riders could take adversity, then so could I. As the bus went through downtown, it filled to capacity with other people who may have been waiting as long as I had. At least I had a seat.
I was glad that at that only appointment now was with a nights sleep.
