What are they teaching in MBTA bus school these days?
Enuh Cork reports the new driver on his T bus to the Orange Line almost passed him and four other would-be riders by because he only stops for people who flag him down:
... Dude. It's 7 o'clock in the morning. There's 5 of us standing around waiting. There's only one bus route that drives by this stop. I don't think there is a need to signal.
Usually when other bus drivers see our crowd, they understand our unspoken message of: "We would like to board and ride your bus after paying the fare." ...




Ummmm
You have to signal? I though that standing a bus stop was a signal in itself. I swear there are two sets of rules at the T, the real ones and the ones made up by the employees.
NO KIDDING - i swear to
NO KIDDING - i swear to whoever cares that they will take anybody with anything that looks like a driving license. they are driving faster and talking more on their phones than cab drivers.
Must be 'Newbie Week' at the MBTA
Last night, when I was coming home, the bus driver just started blow right past a stop, and then screeched to a halt as the person AT THE BUS STOP started waving and running after him.
As it turns out, it was my neighbor. She wanted to know why he didn't stop, and he said, and I quote, 'I don't stop for people who aren't at the bus stop.'
My neighbor gently told him (and I do mean gently - she's such a sweetheart) that she was standing directly between the two bus stop signs, therefore she WAS at the bus stop. Several other perplexed riders confirmed it to the guy, but he just grumbled and sped toward the next stop.
I mean seriously. The bus stop is the same bus stop the entire time I've lived in Melrose. I'd never laid eyes on this driver before, so perhaps he was new. And making up his own rules.
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Jen Stewart
They were training new
They were training new Orange Line operators too, or at least I hope so.
The other day, my inbound train blew past or fell short of almost every single stop from Green St. to Back Bay. I actually felt badly for them, the embarrassment must have been horrific.
It didn't happen to be the
It didn't happen to be the 19, did it?
Because a couple weeks ago, I was waiting at Ruggles in the morning, and a 19 nearly just cruised right through. It stopped when another lady and I ran after it, and the driver told us we had to signal for him so he knew to stop.
OK, at a street stop I get that, but...at Ruggles, when the only other bus that stops at that berth had just pulled away, and we were still standing there?
Other end of the Orange Line
He's an Orange Line northerner :-).
Ah...somehow, knowing that
Ah...somehow, knowing that it's system-wide doesn't reassure me much.
Jack Welsh
We need a Jack Welsh type character to take over the MBTA/MBCR. I'm sure it'd be purring like a cat by the time he's done with it.
The 7
The 7 bus in Southie has a few drivers who pick and choose their stops. One of them blew past me the other night even thought I actually was flagging him.