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ChineseRapid Quandry
I’m sitting outside of the Federal Building on Wilshire and Veteran looking at four Metro Rapid busses parked in front of me… wait, make that five, a 761 Rapid just joined the flock. The grass looks soft, the best our federal tax dollars can buy, so I take a seat and take in the sun. Must be a Bermuda mix, worth every penny. And it seems like I’m not the only one appreciating the soft grass because to my right is one of the Rapid drivers, a large black woman reading what looks to be one of Tom Clancy’s latest nail biters. To my left is another Rapid driver, and another and another after that. And wouldn’t you know it, here comes that sleek looking 761 to join the party. I smiled at my situation.
5 Rapid busses. 5 Rapid bus drivers. 20 some Rapid riders. And nobody going anywhere. Something seems awry; does it not?
Then I awake from my pondering to the honking of a forty something lady with dyed hair who’s yelling out the window of her Volvo station wagon to an equally annoyed and overly stressed woman in a white Mercedes. The honking and muted yells continue till the Swedish rectangle wins the heroic battle and moves forward two extra feet in front of her German engineered nemesis. And watching it all, as I just did, sits a man in a jeep wrangler staring at me with envy. I point to the bus and smile, pressing my ass a little bit deeper into the soft federal soil, for I’d rather wait an extra couple minutes than sit in that mess any day of the week.
*Just after posting this I happened upon a like-minded post by fellow Metro rider, LA Metro Mole (June 10, 2006 “so you won’t have to stand in the hot sun…” post). He offers more helpful advice though and I suggest you all check it out, both rider and administrator alike. Thanks LA Metro Mole.
Discussion
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If only it had been bluegrass.
I don’t know how I feel about 5 Rapid buses just hanging out, but at least you felt like you were part of a modern urban community, right?
def… it didn’t annoy me or anything, i knew they were on break or whatever so its all good. though i do like what LA Metro Mole says about planning that break stuff a bit better. but whatever, in my experience it’s not something that happens often.
yuck, bus-stop grass, really…
Breaks cannot be touched. There’s a huge section on recovery time in the drivers’ contracts alone.
Generally, drivers can take their breaks regardless of late they were. They just can never run ahead of schedule.
The formula for relief time is spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement. Drivers get at least 6 minutes at all times, one extended break for lunch, and the rest is a formula of 10% of a one-way trip running time, or something to that effect.
yeah i don’t know enough about the contract stuff, hence my confusion. however, and i know this can’t be changed, i still think that breaks during the middle of peak traffic is absurd. sorry drivers and all else effected, i’m not trying to sound insensitive or pompous, but in every job i’ve ever had in my life breaks and lunches were given when things slowed. even from something as simple as working in retail or restuarants. during peak hours you knew you weren’t getting a break, just how it works. it’s not like it’s a huge chunk of time anyway… is working for three WHOLE hours without breaking THAT much to ask? give me… “break.” (hahahahaha)
Tykejohnson wrote:
Bus driving doesn’t work that way. You don’t do work for half a day, get your break in the middle and work again for the other half.
The break time is given in small increments, at the end of each line. As opposed to one straight hour, they get 6-7 breaks that are about 10 minutes long. There was a recent state law that was passed that makes one of those breaks longer, about 15-30 minutes, for a “regular” lunch break. This is giving schedule makers at transit agencies throughout California headaches, as they have to see if they can give those drivers that mandated break without having to add another bus run.
What about train drivers? They seem, superficially at least, to have an easier gig? Is this really the case? I mean they don’t have to deal with traffic, checking/selling tickets, helping the handicap, etc,etc. And they always seem to get a pretty decent break when they get to the end of the line.
Fred, you are right, train operation is a great job. Train operators are bus drivers with very high seniority. The MTA’s train operator bulletin requires three years of bus driving experience, and is open to internal candidates only. In practicality, only drivers with 20+ years of seniority would get the assignments. It’s a lateral transfer, not a promotion.
They still have bus driver contracts, and the same break rules apply.
That’s break time at the MTA. In every other agency that isn’t run amok by the unions, the layover time is merely “recovery time” if the driver is late. When the driver is late, he is expected to turn that bus around and run in the other direction. Period. Stop. End. If he has to use the bathroom, he can do that, but he can NOT just sit there and count the 12 minutes of his break and leave the terminal late.
One of the amazing things about the MTA labor contract is that there is no penalty for leaving late. Mid route I can understand, but there is no penalty for arriving at your starting terminal late, nor is there a penalty for leaving your starting terminal late. You can hang out at your start point all you want and leave with your buddy on the next run. No penalty, and you get that bus bunching phenomenon.
People ride trains because they’re more reliable, and this is why.
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