014: Driving a bus - what have I learnt?

I reflect on my nearly eight months of driving.

Eastbourne Terminus - looking back to Wellington City

Coming up to the end of the year, and the beginning of a new one, it seems appropriate that I reflect on my journey (pardon the pun) as a bus operator, a bus driver, a transport facilitator. So, what have I learnt?

1. Service is good for the soul. Making people happy is good for the soul. My soul. Their soul. Of course, some people cannot be helped, no matter how far I go out of my way to make their day better. Some passengers refuse to engage when they get on or off the bus. I need to accept that. Let it go, Alan.

2. People bury their heads in their phones way too much. This week, on several different occasions, I passed a person sitting at a bus stop, engrossed in their phone, oblivious to my approach. At the last moment, in some cases just after I passed them, they’ll look up and decide I’m the bus they want to catch. Pay attention. Keep your eyes peeled. Flag me down, before the stop, please!

3. There are some atrocious drivers on the road. Somehow, some people believe that they always have the right of way. I pulled out of an intersection on the Old Hutt Road and a car coming from my right was slightly inconvenienced from my lack of speed. He decided to continue without adjusting his speed, pulled out onto the painted median to begin to overtake me, and then slowly edged over into my lane. Nice. I met him at the next set of traffic lights.

4. Remember to take all your belongings with you when you get off the bus. Yesterday I found a small cloth bag on a rear seat. On closer inspection, and after withdrawing one of the items from the bag, I discovered that it was a bag of G-strings. My lost property report described the find as follows:

   Small cloth bag full of sparkly G-strings. They appear to be unused.

5. The undercarriage of birds, particularly larger birds like pigeons, seagulls, kereru, and kaka, is a marvel to behold. For whatever reason, birds often fly at the height of a bus driver’s viewpoint. It’s as close as you can get to experiencing firsthand the mechanics required to take flight. The movement of wings and tail feathers to determine direction or elevation is mesmerising. Of course, as a professional driver, I’m not distracted. I’m merely stating this as another ‘perk of the job’.

6. I’m fortunate not to have (yet) run over a pigeon. Despite their ability to fly, they are often moodling around on the road, pecking the ground, wholly engrossed in some edible detritus stuck to the asphalt. I have no desire to run over a pigeon on Willis or Manners Street in front of a busy stop and hear the POP of the rib cage as the unfortunate bird expels innards from every orifice. Many years ago, I heard that POP and it’s not something I want to be responsible for. So, pigeons…take the advice that I give passengers on phones and pay some damn attention! Get out of my way.

   

   Brooke van Velden looks smug as she announces the repeal of Fair Pay Agreements. Image: Stuff

7. Bus drivers, I hope, are appreciated — at least by the general public who regularly commute. On the other hand, we have a new government who have pushed through the repeal of the Fair Pay Agreements in their first 100 days. Their reasoning:

   “As a government we are focussed on boosting productivity, becoming more competitive, and creating a healthy economy that will benefit all New Zealanders…If finalised, these agreements would have made it tougher for businesses who are already struggling in a cost of living crisis by piling on rigid and costly legislation.”

   It’s all about the businesses. Workers can now officially continue to be exploited, until the businesses, who are supposedly struggling more than the workers, have recovered enough to decide to pay workers what they are worth. Does anyone, anyone at all, believe that will ever happen? I spoke to a driver last week who received $800 in the hand for a long week. After paying $600 in rent, plus some other mandatory costs, he was left with $153. That’s no way to live — it’s hardly living at all.

8. On the previous point, when I signed my contract in February (I didn’t start driving until May), I was told that our pay would be increasing to $30 an hour. Despite all of the agencies responsible for approving and funding this increase (GWRC, Metlink, and NZ Bus) we are still waiting. The rumour is that it will happen before Christmas. Today was payday. Nothing.

I love this job. Despite the pay and the conditions, every day I look forward to getting up, getting to work, and driving people backwards and forwards across town.

I’ve learnt something about myself. I crave and enjoy certainty, and there’s nothing more certain than a hundred deadlines during the day.

Driving is a job that has autonomy but with very rigid and non-negotiable guidelines. Despite driving the same shift every day (not the same trip) each day is different. Different weather, different buses, different passengers mingled with the regulars, different cars on the road, different road works, different pigeons to avoid, different lost property…

I love pulling the handbrake on and hearing that pneumatic hiss. I love swinging around corners and having car drivers and pedestrians look up at me with a how-the-hell-did-you-do-that expression. I grin, inwardly and outwardly. I might do a little upward head bump to acknowledge them. The journey continues.

Have a great summer. I’m working quite a bit over the next few weeks so maybe we’ll see each other on the road.

Stay safe out there. And remember. Always thank the driver!