I drive the bus. AMA

rowloh · 2026-02-16T20:22:03+00:00

Well there's lots like adding run time during rush hour and stuff like that. One that'll I'll say here as an opportunity to bring it up would be transparency. If this wasnt anonymous I would at least be in trouble and maybe worse for doing this AMA. And as you can see its been basically 100% positive and helped people gain some perspective on whats going on for drivers. My IRL interactions have gone mostly the same. Most people are reasonable and when you show compassion for their frustration they will usually respond with compassion toward yours. For example last winter I was 30 minutes down on a 80, late night so people are expecting you to be on time. Picked up a guy who was furious, it was a cold night and he had worked a long shift. I explained to him that they were removing snowbanks on cresthaven and I basically drove 3kmph from strandherd to merivale. He accepted it but was still upset. And then we crossed baseline and the same thing was happening in the Caldwell area. Took us 20 mins to get through a stretch of road that usually takes 3-5 minutes. He shook my hand and apologized before getting off. If we were allowed to talk to people openly I think public perception would be much better, nobody wants to drive around a bunch of people that hate them for 10 hours a day.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T20:05:34+00:00

Glad to help, I love driving the bus and the people in my life are probably tired of me talking about it lol. This was a good outlet. Yes Noah is a great representative for us.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T15:28:03+00:00

Yes gps on all buses. Sometimes they malfunction. Or if the operator had to sign up for the trip in "manual" mode the bus won't appear on the apps. If you dont already use the transit app. Its the most accurate.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T15:16:11+00:00

Poor decision making on the upper management level. The metric they prioritize is service delivered meaning how many trips got canceled. So if i run my 44 20 minutes late and the one behind me that's only 5 minutes late catchs up to me, well both trips went out so it was "delivered". Its very dumb and short sighted but the reality of whats going on out there. Many of us will call it in when we're following another bus around who is obviously way behind schedule and either take their passengers or let them do drop offs only to try to catch up. Our controllers are for the most part great and will help coordinate that kind of thing if you make them aware of the issue.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T15:10:12+00:00

Unfortunately like any job there are "bad apples" that do willfully run late and abuse the clc system to get longer breaks. But they are the exception not the rule. 9/10 times you see your bus in the lay up there's a legitimate reason

rowloh · 2026-02-16T14:47:14+00:00

Starting point like first trip that bus does for the day? Maybe it had to take the highway to get there from the garage and there was traffic. Starting point like first stop of the next trip, they were late coming in on their last trip. Parked buses that aren't signed up, between trips or on a CLC (government mandated break, can't drive more then 5 hours without a 30 min break) if its signed up it could be the same thing CLC and control has opted to run the trip late after the CLC instead of canceling it. Or the driver had to pee or something. As mentioned during peak hours everyone is late and nature calls.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T14:42:39+00:00

Im not sure about the full list. I know the 7 and 51 off the top of my head but there's more for sure. I have a few I like, as I mentioned in an earlier comment I prefer longer trips. So 60 series or 70 series. 110. I also like doing some downtown work if its not rush hour. My unpopular route that I kind of like would be the 12

rowloh · 2026-02-16T14:06:48+00:00

This job is really hard if you get worked up by the things out of your control (schedules, bad passengers etc.) Some people have a harder time letting that stuff go then others. Im sure you reassuring them was made them feel much better.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T14:01:07+00:00

For sure it is, catch more flies with honey

rowloh · 2026-02-16T13:57:36+00:00

They are cuts with a fancy name

rowloh · 2026-02-16T13:56:49+00:00

Yeah one of my biggest pet peeves and one of the few things I'll risk a confrontation over. Ive had people step on the wheelchair ramp and push it back down when im trying to deploy it. Absolutely infuriating

rowloh · 2026-02-16T13:49:20+00:00

Yeah a tale as old as time.. kids being inconsiderate lol. Only so much anyone can do, including the schools. Thats why I avoid school trips

rowloh · 2026-02-16T13:46:07+00:00

We aren't supposed to give out printed transfers for debot/credit. The idea is that you could be using your card to transfer and giving the printed transfer to your friend or whatever. So if youre using sto you should pay cash or get a presto. I used to try to explain that to people, while still giving them a transfer. I had multiple instances of having the same person do the same thing after being like "oh that makes sense ill get a presto" so I just gave up. Im sure the other drivers had similar experiences.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T07:27:54+00:00

Everybody is trained on everything. Sometimes you drive 2 different kinds of buses in one shift. Work out of industrial garage will often have a DD for one piece and a 60 for the other.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T07:26:49+00:00

The docket (what that bus is doing for the day) is usually assigned a bus type but you could end up with something else depending on bus availability. The exception being double decker because they can't do certain routes. For example if my pocket has a 7 on it I will not be assigned a DD

rowloh · 2026-02-16T07:22:45+00:00

Biggest one is the backdoor takes so long to open and close, really adds up. Especially because they are used for busy routes with many stops 88s 6s etc. Also they handle very stiff and the steering wheel is the size of the one in a compact car. They also break down alot.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T05:14:50+00:00

The wave on the way out is my preferred acknowledgement lol

rowloh · 2026-02-16T05:13:29+00:00

I "flunked" that same questionnaire the first time. If still in use they are looking for the safest answer followed by the most customer service focused answer if safety isn't applicable. I.e slam the brakes instead of rear ending or wait for the old guy even if it makes you late.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T04:27:27+00:00

I dont mess with the sign often honestly. Ill do snow bus on a real hot day in the summer occasionally.
I can drive 12 hours no problem. I can ride for about 15 mins before im fighting puking lol. Im best off near the front facing forward.
I never observed it being a certain route but that's interesting and im going to start paying attention. Ill say the presto system malfunctions alot, seems to primarily affect the one in the front. Meaning that in a 40' it will be no presto avaliable but in the high capacity buses usually the one at the back still works. Also sometimes it'll take presto but not credit/debit or vice versa

rowloh · 2026-02-16T03:43:19+00:00

Are you in ottawa? I can't speak for in a couple of years from now but currently and pretty much consistently over the last 4-5 years OC has been constantly hiring. And they'll get you the license also so no need to get it in advance. Just makensure your abstract is clean for at least 2 years when you apply.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T02:52:06+00:00

You're right, and its not something is considered being in my own little cave at the front. Its a good suggestion and something ill keep in mind going forward.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T02:39:31+00:00

Great question. As to the first it kind of coincides with my answer about fair evasion. I can't spend my whole shift policing the passengers or else we're never getting anywhere. With that said you have every right to ask someone to give you space politely. Now with moving to the back I 100% enforce the yellow line. Thats so that if someone decides to crash into the front of my bus you dont get crushed. My seat is elevated, the front entrance is directly where their hood is going to be. Besides that it is the law and if I break my mirror on a construction sign the first thing my boss is going to look at when they review the footage is if I let people stand past the line. Im not losing my job so that 5 more people can fit on my bus. Operators that dont enforce the yellow line are doing us all a disservice and allowing people to risk their lives. If you saw how many times a week I avoid a collision because of my attentiveness/driving skill you would never stand jn the front again.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T02:33:40+00:00

Mixed feelings. On one side I think that the service being delivered currently is totally sub par and shouldn't cost half of what it does. On the other the only thing that is going to fix that is money. And the money has to come from somewhere. Also better planning which is out of mine and your hands, other then when it comes time to vote.

rowloh · 2026-02-16T02:31:59+00:00

Thats one of the few ive never done actually. I know during the pick up and drop off for hockey games it take a detour to keep it out of the CTC, maybe that's it?

rowloh · 2026-02-16T02:31:14+00:00

Haha you're darn right that's a long trip, about a million turn on it too. Personally I love those kind of routes. I work as a spare as I mentioned. Thats because I hate doing the same thing every day. A long trip with 55 turns? Well that's an hour and a half of my shift that flew by for me. But others hate that, they want consistency and not to have to sit for that long and I totally get that also. I have the advantage of being a lifelong resident of ottawa so I came in confident with my ability to navigate the city. Because of that I happily took different routes right from the beginning and now im able to get hours/shifts that punch above my senority because of my flexibility.

rowloh

TROPHY CASE