Speeding driver on Route 66
By adamg - 10/29/08 - 7:50 pm
Gnomi reports on a 66 bus driver who had to slam on his brakes to pick her and other riders up this morning on Harvard Street - because the driver was desperately (and futilely) trying to stick to his schedule. In a letter to the T, she asks:
... Are you truly training drivers that the way to compensate for running late is to drive unsafely along heavily populated areas? That goes beyond stupid to reckless. The 66 bus is notorious for not keeping to its schedule, but the answer is not to encourage drivers to endanger both those inside and outside the bus.
Comments
Overreaction much?
Obviously, I'm not the MBTA, but I'll take a crack at this 'open' letter.
I think the operator's actions were appropriate. Although he didn't actually miss you and hence no harm was done, he still apologized for 'almost' missing you.
I don't mean to offend, but in this incident there didn't seem to be any endangerment to anyone. It does not appear that bus riders were in danger, nor does it appear that any pedestrians were in danger.
I will even venture to add that, as is commonly known, safety is the number one priority at the T.
66
It sounds like the driver didn't see the peds waiting at the stop, and when they did, they stopped the bus and picked them up.
Just another day on the Bus from what I've experienced.
Hey Gnomi
Ever hear of this funky new invention called the "automobile?" Takes you where you want to go on your schedule, and you get to drive it yourself as erratically or as safely as you like.
They're quite nice. I'd suggest saving your bus fare and investing in one.
I don't understand your reply
A speeding bus driver can pose a hazard to drivers of automobiles, too.
If only...
we all had the same love affair with the MBTA as DarkSun.
I have been on the bus, on more than one occassion, where the driver is hauling ass up Washington Street in Roslindale and, due to the high speed, has had to slam on the brakes (either to drop/pick up or, you know, to actually obey the traffic lights), causing more than one passenger to go tumbling. Sometimes, it is into the lap of another patron, other times it is to the floor.
I know the MBTA gets a fair amount of bashing, but not all of it is undeserved. Whether trying to keep to a schedule or not, as the auto-comment I hear daily from Dan Grabauskis reminds me, "Safety is our first concern at the MBTA." It would be nice if once in a while the message "from the top" matched reality.
Yeah, if only...
...you guys all had the same love affair with the MBTA as me, then the world would be a much better place.
Heh, just joking!
Anyhow, I know what you're saying, I myself have been sent tumbling on buses due to brake-slamming at traffic lights. But I think that as riders we're all responsible for making sure we're hanging on securely.
Getting short with you ...
I'm just about average female height and I have long arms for my height, yet I still can't "hold on securely" if there isn't anything left to hold on a crowded bus.
The straps are a seriously major improvement, but the vast majority of humans still end up fighting for the hand rails on the seat backs. If only the people who wrote the specifications understood the most basic concepts of anthropometry! They some how missed that bit about average heights and limb lengths when they hastily skipped over the "people wear winter coats in Boston" concept of seat design.
Hand Poles
I fully support ceiling-to-floor poles in the middle of aisles. I've seen it on other public transit and it's a good idea.
Hiding them among seats and along the edges only helps so much.
Like in the doorways of trolleys, when the fleshy groaning mass lurches forward and back... just put a damn pole in the middle. It really is that simple.
I'll make a note of that...
...sounds like this might be a good thing to add in future buses. Thanks guys.
Subway Pole
Here's an image, I think from the NYC MTA
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_BkTgPy9-xQI/R7x38XUB9mI/AAAAAAAAEGc/VwglUqx_nXc/P1000209.JPG
Comparing to our typical red line train car, imagine that same space but without the poles in the middle.
It would be a lot less safe for a full car of people. The only 'safe' feature is when it is REALLY FULL such that people can't move. The only thing holding them up is each other. That's not a good way to provide safety to riders.
We put them in the corners of the benches by the doors, but that just makes people stand by the doors which, as we all know, causes delays.
Link fail
that link doesn't work.
Thanks, but...
...that involves subway train cars, not buses. Additionally, that link doesn't work, as Ron has pointed out.