April 2, 2007
Ask a Muni Driver
Today, we take a break from dealing with MUNI's problems and take a look at the Day in the Life of a MUNI driver and answer that most important question: how and when Muni drivers go to the bathroom. And remember folks, you too can ask questions. Just drop us a line at editor@sfist.com.
Suppose I start at 11AM. When the bus that I take over arrives 15 minutes late, I have to play catch up. I am essentially doing my "follower's" (the bus after you) job. So I am doing more work with a schedule that is designed for half the passenger load. So I fall further behind. Mind you that this is a safety sensitive job. The bus does not fly and you cannot tell the elderly to HURRY UP as they are already doing their best to manage. And of course, when people get on the bus, they wonder where the hell I have been all day. "I have been waiting FOR YOU for the last hour!"
Then when the Follower catches up to me, folks generally DO NOT want to ride the second bus. So I pick up even more people, making me even more late. When this continues, there may be 3 or 4 buses back-to-back-to-back. Then people get even more angry and wonder what the heck is going with MUNI.
When a bus that I am supposed to relieve is not there, I have to take a bus back to the bus yard to get a bus when one becomes available. That might take one hour, two hours... That means there is NO SERVICE during that time.
When I get to the end of the line, I am supposed to get back to where I am supposed to be. But Central Control sometimes will tell me to continue in service until the commute hours are over. This skews the schedule for that line. And I get no break. God forbid if I should need the restrooms.
When you have so many uncontrollable variables to manage, I am sometimes amazed how the other drivers do it. For example, I have no control over the traffic. When a road is blocked by a delivery truck or by the police, I have to wait or try to go around it. I have no control when a bus breaks down. I have no control when the kids or gang member decide to take each other's head off. I have no control when I suddenly get 4 wheel chairs in one bus trip. When locals need directions or when tourists need directions, that is part of my job. These things take time to be handled properly--courteously and to the point.
When 2 or 3 buses are missing due to staffing or equipment problems, I have to go with the flow...
When a driver needs to use a restroom, he has to call Central Control. He is allowed 20 minutes maximum before he gets back in service. Moi, I rarely go out of service for a restroom break.
Speaking of getting 'breaks' at the end of the line. The brief period waiting at the end of the line is NOT actually called a break. It is called 'recovery time'. It is a buffer time injected into the schedule to accommodate for delays. Needless to say, the schedule is very tight. Let me ask you, in your job, when was the last time you had your "break" with your client's company? You can forget about your privacy. When you are on 'recovery time', you are still on duty. On duty to answer questions and give directions, watch kids tag the back of the bus, and stay aware for personal safety, watch more people go in and out of the bus... One can never let his guard down. Well, I hope that you have enjoyed your 'break'. Time to go! (That was after 3 people already have asked "when ARE YOU going to leave?" or "Why are you leaving yet?")
Muni drivers have to be able to manage the endless layers of catch-22s. Sometimes, it is determining what will hurt the least, like choosing the lesser of two evils.
This job is not for the weak of heart. Not just anybody can do this. Theory does not always translate well into practice and reality. I just happen to like my job despite all the challenges. It integrates my prior experience as a business proprietor and my background in management, personnel, scheduling, crisis management, conflict management, security, customer service, public relations, ethnic sensitivity and the disabled community. When you have 765,000 cooks/philosophers/managers/opinion makers in one big kitchen, it makes for an interesting sitcom.
BTW, MUNI is hiring again. Like the Marines, MUNI needs a few good men and women who ride the bus regularly, who know of MUNI intimately--and who will have an opportunity to apply their best ideas on how to improve MUNI. If you want to make a difference and you are battle-savvy, do something about it by working from the inside!
I am tired. Time to go to sleep and start all over again tomorrow. Any takers?
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Wow. It's nobody's fault (except the impatient and unreasonable patrons). And yet, somehow, Seattle and NYC both get buses and trains to their stops, more or less on time, most of the time. Wow. If only SF passengers would shape up and realize that it's no one's fault but their own. Then, well, I'm not sure. Presumably, MUNI would suddenly get better.
You are missing the point.
The driver is not blaming the public for the woes of MUNI. The question was about a day in the life of a driver.
I seriously doubt that you could do a better job as a driver with no ability to affect the huge MUNI political machine.
Same old thing, even the good drivers who actually care get blamed. Figures.
Maybe Muni should make the doors close hard on people, more like the BART. In NY if you don't get in there, then tough luck. Train moves on, on schedule, and you wait for the next one.
Also, if a train is stuck, there is some effort made to get it out of the way. Granted NY has local and express lines so there is an extra line for emergencies - ie. everyone goes local for a short while, at least around the emergency. So maybe there isn't that luxury here. But I don't get how trains are allowed to get backed up at the Embarcadero station, empty, while trains behind it are waiting just to get to Embarcadero to let its passengers off. During rush hour! Can't the trains get put somewhere else?
I wouldn't want to be a driver. It's a thankless job.
The real delays on Muni aren't from slow passengers, they're from being stuck behind the cars. Until we've got transit lanes on all routes with busy streets, Muni isn't going to be any faster.
I appreciate SFist running this 'Ask a Muni Driver' addition. For all the bitching we do, the other side should have their say, even if it leaves us wondering where more drivers like this are.
I agree with LB - thanks for the insights from the driver's side of things.
I could see where a handicap rider or otherwise just plain slow senior stop would really slow things down for a particular bus. There just needs to be better and more reliable next bus info - so we can make an educated decision about waiting for the next bus or just walk/taxi/whatever to our destination.
i too appreciate Ask a Muni driver. but as usual, most of his comments beg further questions.
if three or four buses bunch up, why can't the ones behind at some point skip ahead of the slow and overcrowded one? (if it's carrying fewer passengers, presumably it'll have to make fewer stops.)
if Muni's hiring, why do we constantly hear about operator shortages? is there a lack of high-quality candidates who want to work in transit, or lousy recruiting and training?
finally, are there untapped ways to keep quality drivers and employees, while putting deficient ones on notice to improve or make room for up-and-comers?
I pretty much assumed that it was evident to everybody that a delayed bus means picking up passengers for the the following bus. I'm sure we've all caught an earlier bus than the one we intended.
Incidentally, transit systems that run on time plan for the "unavoidable" delays, bathroom breaks, breakdowns and so forth into their schedules. Muni's scheduling, alas, is something the drivers don't have much control over.