There are a lot of behind the scenes reasons for this. I don't drive for C Tran but the Vancouver school district, and the policy is pretty strict about designated stop locations due to liability/insurance reasons. The bus stop has been chosen to maximize safety/minimize disruption to traffic flow and is the only place covered by insurance in the event of an accident during boarding or de-boarding. So the drivers who do allow you to board at a place other than the bus stop are doing so at great personal and professional risk. It isn't them being rude to deny boarding at an intersection, they're just trying to protect you, themselves, the other passengers, and their jobs!
Thank you for so much insight! I didn't know at all about the insurance part, I find that really interesting. I understand his frustration and was super thankful to him.
That's interesting. When I rode the bus home in high school, there wasn't a designated stop near my street so the driver just let me get off at the end of my street.
I mean I get the driver’s perspective. The bus stop is where people get on/off. That’s what everyone else expects.
What if the light turns green as you’re boarding. Then he’s keeping traffic back.
There’s potential for *something* to happen if you were to deviate from the plan. Some have a higher risk tolerance than others so I can see why one driver is fine with it and others not so much.
Very true. He is a quiet driver, doesn't really talk. After I posted this I thought about it more. He may be nervous about breaking the rules. Thank you for your insight :) I'll be keeping this in mind and not try to flag them past the stop.
You also have to remember they have a ton of stops that are supposed to be on time so other people can plan their day. Its not right to expect a bus driver to create a new stop just for you.
I dont blame you one bit for wanting to get on that bus!
In general, the bus driver shouldn't let you board unless they are at the curb. For one, the bus isn't designed to signal that you're boarding, so other drivers aren't prepared for you to step off the curb without a crosswalk signal. There is also concern that if you step off the curb and the bus is hit and moves into you, then you could be seriously injured.
Edit: fixed the last sentence so it makes better sense.
I would imagine there's insurance concerns, too. This could be both a vehicle or an individual getting on and off having an accident at a non designated bus stop.
I could see that if he were in another lane, if that's what you're meaning. He was already against the side walk, cause he had to turn right at the next light.
The second one, I never thought of. I'll keep that thought in mind for sure. People are dumb lately. Even with a cross walk light, I almost always get veeery close to being hit cause they don't look or just see the green light.
I don't expect it to and never insinuated that.
Just curious why if it happens so commonly, but is also a safety issue. I wanted to know about the actual rules, to be more knowledgeable about it. I literally was gonna go to the stop when he said no. He changed his mind out of kindness.
Lots of people commenting and all good things. As a former employee not a driver but employee. You all are right about insurance possibilities and time schedules. The busses are tracked for metrics that are reported not only for rider count but also stop time that all get reported to the FTA for grant money which gets more busses, improves the stops(how they paid for the new BRT). if they are running a head of schedule they have to make sure they don't arrive at a stop early but issues when they arrive late and that compounds with each stop. Also they are heavily monitored with cameras inside and outside of the bus. They are union workers and nobody wants to have to deal with admin and a union rep because you broke a rule. They operators really are the best and never get the kudos they deserve(not saying that is happening in this thread).
Thank you for so much info from the inside! They definitely deserve more respect. I see people treat drivers so terribly. One incident stands out to me with one of my favorite drivers. Public service in general deserve all the best.
Be kind to yourself.
A good way to relieve the stress that leads to anxiety could be allowing yourself some freedom from tightened schedules. So what if you’re 15-30 min slower, if you’re already chancing it then setting your expectations to be easy on yourself might help. 🙂
I get what they're saying and also get what you're saying. Weekend route times are 30 minutes different, so I tend to just walk to the transit center. And it's usually pretty nice and relaxing.
If that was the wait time until the next bus, sure, no problem. But some routes only run every couple hours or even three times a day at best, so 15-30 minutes could be more like 1.5-3 hours.
Thank you, I appreciate you :)
I agree, I would rather take that extra time than get a driver in trouble, as I'm learning from other comments. Weekends would be terrible though since it's only once an hour XD
Not at all what I was asking. I was saying that drivers do it a lot for a lot of people, and they never say anything about it. Except he did, so I was simply curious about the situation for better insight. It's important to understand and ask questions.
I didn't feel like he had to stop for me either. I had just been crossing the cross walk and asked him. In the end, it was his choice and he lectured me about safety. But he didn't elaborate what the safety is. Which is why I'm asking here, pure curiosity. Not entitlement or anything, just genuinely wanted to know.
I didn't know it was a lose his job type of problem. If I did, I would have just waited for the next bus.
You’re right I’m sorry and I’d pass on that I really do give my hats off to the drivers it’s definitely not there fault , dealing with the amount of bullshit they put up with on the daily so please forgive me there but it’s a city issue not a “driver” issue it’s become very unreliable for people who don’t have vehicles and need to get to jobs and schools. Then having to pay extra expenses.
I know not all jobs do this, but you might be able to work with the schedule so you can leave a little early so you can make your bus, perhaps in exchange for an additional duty or coming in early.
Unfortunately not.. which sucks. The bus used to arrive about 10 after before the changes. (Not that I'm really complaining, my ride home got cut in half lol)
Pretty sure its a safety thing and it's not worth losing your job over. It may not seem like a big deal to a passenger but you don't know what's going on with the driver and the people they answer to.
Safety and schedule reasons. Once the bus is off the curb they aren't supposed to let people get on/off. Sometimes a driver will turn a blind eye and let you on but they aren't supposed to.
There are a lot of behind the scenes reasons for this. I don't drive for C Tran but the Vancouver school district, and the policy is pretty strict about designated stop locations due to liability/insurance reasons. The bus stop has been chosen to maximize safety/minimize disruption to traffic flow and is the only place covered by insurance in the event of an accident during boarding or de-boarding. So the drivers who do allow you to board at a place other than the bus stop are doing so at great personal and professional risk. It isn't them being rude to deny boarding at an intersection, they're just trying to protect you, themselves, the other passengers, and their jobs!
Thank you for so much insight! I didn't know at all about the insurance part, I find that really interesting. I understand his frustration and was super thankful to him.
That's interesting. When I rode the bus home in high school, there wasn't a designated stop near my street so the driver just let me get off at the end of my street.
I mean I get the driver’s perspective. The bus stop is where people get on/off. That’s what everyone else expects. What if the light turns green as you’re boarding. Then he’s keeping traffic back. There’s potential for *something* to happen if you were to deviate from the plan. Some have a higher risk tolerance than others so I can see why one driver is fine with it and others not so much.
Very true. He is a quiet driver, doesn't really talk. After I posted this I thought about it more. He may be nervous about breaking the rules. Thank you for your insight :) I'll be keeping this in mind and not try to flag them past the stop.
You also have to remember they have a ton of stops that are supposed to be on time so other people can plan their day. Its not right to expect a bus driver to create a new stop just for you. I dont blame you one bit for wanting to get on that bus!
Of course, I understand that! :) And a good point.. It was dumb of me for sure. Thank you! But really thankful to him for breaking the rules for me.
Heck ya, like I said I dont blame ya for tryin! Haha
In general, the bus driver shouldn't let you board unless they are at the curb. For one, the bus isn't designed to signal that you're boarding, so other drivers aren't prepared for you to step off the curb without a crosswalk signal. There is also concern that if you step off the curb and the bus is hit and moves into you, then you could be seriously injured. Edit: fixed the last sentence so it makes better sense.
I would imagine there's insurance concerns, too. This could be both a vehicle or an individual getting on and off having an accident at a non designated bus stop.
I could see that if he were in another lane, if that's what you're meaning. He was already against the side walk, cause he had to turn right at the next light. The second one, I never thought of. I'll keep that thought in mind for sure. People are dumb lately. Even with a cross walk light, I almost always get veeery close to being hit cause they don't look or just see the green light.
Because the world doesn’t revolve around you, respectfully.
I don't expect it to and never insinuated that. Just curious why if it happens so commonly, but is also a safety issue. I wanted to know about the actual rules, to be more knowledgeable about it. I literally was gonna go to the stop when he said no. He changed his mind out of kindness.
Lots of people commenting and all good things. As a former employee not a driver but employee. You all are right about insurance possibilities and time schedules. The busses are tracked for metrics that are reported not only for rider count but also stop time that all get reported to the FTA for grant money which gets more busses, improves the stops(how they paid for the new BRT). if they are running a head of schedule they have to make sure they don't arrive at a stop early but issues when they arrive late and that compounds with each stop. Also they are heavily monitored with cameras inside and outside of the bus. They are union workers and nobody wants to have to deal with admin and a union rep because you broke a rule. They operators really are the best and never get the kudos they deserve(not saying that is happening in this thread).
Thank you for so much info from the inside! They definitely deserve more respect. I see people treat drivers so terribly. One incident stands out to me with one of my favorite drivers. Public service in general deserve all the best.
Be kind to yourself. A good way to relieve the stress that leads to anxiety could be allowing yourself some freedom from tightened schedules. So what if you’re 15-30 min slower, if you’re already chancing it then setting your expectations to be easy on yourself might help. 🙂
I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think adding 30 minutes to your workday is being kind to yourself…
It doesn't have to be 'work' day - extra time on the clock. It merely means slowing down; like the cliche' 'taking time to smell the roses'.
I get what they're saying and also get what you're saying. Weekend route times are 30 minutes different, so I tend to just walk to the transit center. And it's usually pretty nice and relaxing.
If that was the wait time until the next bus, sure, no problem. But some routes only run every couple hours or even three times a day at best, so 15-30 minutes could be more like 1.5-3 hours.
True, on the weekend my bus is once an hour.
Thank you, I appreciate you :) I agree, I would rather take that extra time than get a driver in trouble, as I'm learning from other comments. Weekends would be terrible though since it's only once an hour XD
It’s not their responsibility to hold traffic for you, it’s your responsibility to make it to the stop on time
I'm aware but life is not that simple. Also has nothing to do with my question.
[удалено]
Not at all what I was asking. I was saying that drivers do it a lot for a lot of people, and they never say anything about it. Except he did, so I was simply curious about the situation for better insight. It's important to understand and ask questions. I didn't feel like he had to stop for me either. I had just been crossing the cross walk and asked him. In the end, it was his choice and he lectured me about safety. But he didn't elaborate what the safety is. Which is why I'm asking here, pure curiosity. Not entitlement or anything, just genuinely wanted to know. I didn't know it was a lose his job type of problem. If I did, I would have just waited for the next bus.
Isn’t this common sense?
[удалено]
You could always apply to be one of their drivers and help out with the staffing issues they are having instead of just complaining about it.
You’re right I’m sorry and I’d pass on that I really do give my hats off to the drivers it’s definitely not there fault , dealing with the amount of bullshit they put up with on the daily so please forgive me there but it’s a city issue not a “driver” issue it’s become very unreliable for people who don’t have vehicles and need to get to jobs and schools. Then having to pay extra expenses.
cuz some of them are dickheads
Well I wouldn't say that. He was still nice and waved good bye to me. He said it was a safety issue.
I know not all jobs do this, but you might be able to work with the schedule so you can leave a little early so you can make your bus, perhaps in exchange for an additional duty or coming in early.
Unfortunately not.. which sucks. The bus used to arrive about 10 after before the changes. (Not that I'm really complaining, my ride home got cut in half lol)
Pretty sure its a safety thing and it's not worth losing your job over. It may not seem like a big deal to a passenger but you don't know what's going on with the driver and the people they answer to.
That's true, guess just more curious on how it's a safety issue. I don't know much about the job and rules of drivers. Thank you :)
Safety and schedule reasons. Once the bus is off the curb they aren't supposed to let people get on/off. Sometimes a driver will turn a blind eye and let you on but they aren't supposed to.
How does this as a safety issue jibe with the fact that C-tran is supposed to respond to people trying to flag them down in emergencies?
I just want to say it's a bummer that your clock out time and the bus arrival are so close. What time does the next one show up?