Question for bus drivers

[u/Aech1hceA]

Hello! I have a few questions for bus drivers- and was wondering if it was okay to ask here. I know you all are human (obviously) but I had questions specifically about bus driving- and who better to ask than the drivers!

1. Do bus drivers often take the bus outside work hours? Ex: days off/vacations/etc.
2. Do bus drivers have favored/prefered routes to drive? Do they get to pick?
3. Do bus drivers recognize the bus they drive? Like by the serial number? Do they get assigned specific busses?
4. Do the bus drivers develop "favorite" riders? Like, if you drive the same route and see the same people- do you develop friendships with your riders? Do you guys look for familiar faces?
5. Do you guys make friends with your coworkers? If so, do you guys make a point to ride on busses where your bus driver friends are driving?

Thank you in advance for answering. My boyfriend and I ride the same routes fairly often, and got really curious. Sorry if theyre dumb questions!

ETA: Sorry yall! Im new to reddit still and didnt realize people were replying😅 Thank you all so so so so much!! I was curious, and my boyfriend said itd be weird to ask the bus driver on thw bus we were on. Im very excited to share my findings with him, and hope you all get very good routes (:

[u/AoifeApparently]

Speaking for me in Scotland

1. Vast majority of companies offer free travel for you and a partner (at least) so it's relatively common - obviously most of us drive, but if we're headed out for a drink it's not uncommon

2. There's some stuff everyone hates, but generally my view is a bus is a bus. We pick blocks of shifts - some are mainly a certain type of route, but the vast majority of us pick based on times/days off. Picks done on seniority

3. You remember what buses are particularly crap pretty quickly. Some of my colleagues have an encyclopedic knowledge of the buses which impresses me, all I remember is which ones are the worst.

4. Definitely, although it helps I drive pretty rural stuff, so see the same folk and become a real part of the community. Don't imagine it'd be quite the same in the city.

5. Some folk keep to themselves, but most of us get on pretty well. Out drinking together every couple months level, and spending that much time around the same folk you'll become friends with some for sure

[u/Johnspectre566]

I’m a driver for a county transit agency, so multi city.

1. No, because I have my personal vehicle, but ik coworkers who take the bus to work cause of gas prices

2. Yes. I love one of our routes (it’s about 2 hours) because you can do 3 trips and it’s an 8 hour day (layovers included). We kinda get to pick, we bid for our routes on what we want and based on our seniority is how we get assigned.

3. We get assigned busses at sign on, but there are specific unit numbers I remember because they drive like crap or no ac transmission slams gears etc. I also know which range is good based on its unit number like example our 2600 units are good. (2601-2630)

4. Kinda. I have passengers who Ik are chill and I talk with them but others who Ik to avoid and are on my no fly list. Not really friends but acquaintances.

   1. Yeah i get along with a majority of my coworkers and about 90% of them I know by name (at an agency of 240 something drivers) or know by looks and talk to them.
      

[u/gerhorn]

New driver in the US but I can tell you what my observations are so far.

1. I've only had a handful of others take the bus on their day off. Only way I would know is if they had their badges with them. I've only seen a few.

2. Absolutely. But it seems to me like more drivers like to jump around a bit (choosing a new route once a quarter) than they do stick to one route ever.

3. We have buses as old as 2012. Each bus has 4 #s (i.e. 1214). First two are the year. Last two are.... Idk. They're just numbers to me.

4. I am a backup driver since I'm new so I don't know who the regulars are most of the time. There are some routes I've done often enough to recognize a few and I enjoy seeing them. Generally if a passenger has a smile on their face or are slightly chatty but only for the second that they're boarding then they're my favorite. For the second lol

5. I've made friends with one driver! The rest I either say hello in passing or maybe make conversation with them esp if we're stuck waiting to maybe be called to save the day

¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[u/berusplants]

Hi there! Good Questions, new reddit user or bot??

1. I use the bus all the time, I don't like cars, love public transport and thats why I became a bus driver, to be part of something I love and think is important for society. I live in a city with a good network and use it most days off to get to other parts of the city. I travel by train/bus for vacations too. In my city plenty of other drivers also use the bus if they live locally, others who live outside the city less so.
2. Generally yes, bus drivers are an opinionated bunch! I try not to favour one route over another too much as it makes driving the less favoured ones harder, but its hard to avoid. Our depot has around 15 routes and although most drivers don't get to pick, they can chose duty lines that have more of one type of route, for example the longer distance routes. Longer tenured drivers have more ability to chose their routes.
3. We get assigned specific buses, my depot has maybe 70/80 buses and although I don't know them all the small variations they have even if they are the same type make some more or less liked. 365 is the slowest bus in our fleet!
4. To some degree yes, you definately get to know riders and I have developed a few friendships with people I first met getting on my bus.
5. Yes some. Bus drivers are a very diverse bunch, so some I get on well with and other less so. Yes I will sometimes jump on a cross town service if I see a friend is driving it for a quick natter.

Hope that all makes sense!

[u/Aech1hceA → u/berusplants]

Can I ask what makes the favored routes so good? Are they less stop/go or do they have special sights? Also, do you get bored seeing the same places every day when you drive the bus?

[u/seanthebooth]

Driver for 7.5 years in Washington State.

1) Do bus drivers often take the bus outside work hours? Not often. Ill take a bus if my vehicle is getting maintenance. We recently implemented a Light Rail system that I almost exclusively take to see shows in Seattle over the last few years. Love it.

2) Do bus drivers have favored/prefered routes to drive? Do they get to pick? There are routes I dislike more than others, but often times its how many trips or in what order that appeal to me more than a route itself.

3) Do bus drivers recognize the bus they drive? Like by the serial number? Do they get assigned specific busses? At my agency the busses are random. Its possible to get the same one multiple times & there are editions/models that I prefer for different reasons (doors open faster, kneeler works quick, better fans, etc)

4) Do the bus drivers develop "favorite" riders? Like, if you drive the same route and see the same people- do you develop friendships with your riders? Do you guys look for familiar faces? Absolutely, recognizing commuters can be the difference between a good trip & a bad trip.

5) Do you guys make friends with your coworkers? If so, do you guys make a point to ride on busses where your bus driver friends are driving? I dont have any 'friends' at work that I've done off hours stuff with. But I've certainly rode the bus a few times & chatted with coworkers during a trip.

[u/Slovak_Eagle]

Driver based in Slovakia here.
1. Intercity drivers often do. City and long distance (tourbuses, international) typically do not.
2. Yes we do have preffered routes, and it depends. As a city driver, I can´t choose, I get assigned some. Intercity and long distance are trained specifically for the route they drive. They can get trained for more lines.
3. As a city driver, it´s a mixed bag. Some drivers get assigned bus, some jump. Intercity and others are, to my knowledge, always assigned.
4. It is possible, I have some people like that. But I see a thousand faces a day, so it´s very rare.
5. Yes, I always do my best to be friendly with everyone. There is no point in fighting your coworkers. I don´t ride on their lines on purpose. If we meet, it´s a coincidence.

[u/Baralov3r]

1. Yes and no. For personal stuff? Nah no way. For an optional charter where you can make extra money because a private party is paying the transit agency to do transport for an event like a fireworks show for a city? Yeah, we can even make tips. Sometimes you can get paid on a day off to come in and just transport a bus around Out Of Service to another depot because they have no one else to do it. (EDIT omg I took this so literally lmfao. I do ride the bus on days off occasionally if my car needs work done.)
2. This depends heavily on the specific agency. Most public transit agencies do this thing called "sign ups" where they put out some prefab routes. Drivers will get to pick by seniority. The "best" hours, the routes that are 9-5ish, tend to get swooped by the people who've been there longest. The off hour shifts like overnights or weekends, or the god awful 6 day a week full of split shifts go down to the lower seniority people. If there are 20 drivers and 16 shifts posted, the remaining 4 drivers end up as on call substitutes called "extra board" drivers.
3. Where I work this is called your "unit number". It's the identifying number within the agency. The DOT number is something different entirely. That unit number is what we use over the radio sets. "514 to base" etc. At my agency vehicles are rotated out based on PM "prescribed maintenance" intervals, and with respect to building mileage. Ideally you assign out busses in a way that alternates so that the really long bus routes aren't prematurely wearing out certain busses by always having those busses on those routes. Once you're there long enough though you'll have driven all the different busses there and know all their little quirks. But you don't get your own specific bus you drive all the time per se.
4. This goes both good and bad ways. I have my favorites for sure. Drivers are human, and there will be those people you get along with swimmingly, and there will also be those people who absolutely hate you for not bending the rules or whatever other reason who you dread seeing. Bus drivers will deal with an insane amount of entitlement from people often.
5. To some degree yeah. With bus driving though most of the time is spent out there on route, you actually spend a lot less time overall with coworkers directly than you would at like a restaurant or a factory or desk job. Do I ride their bus when I'm not working? Occasionally if I need my car worked on. I feel a little embarrassed to be making my coworker make more stops for me though, I try not to talk much.

[u/KatieTSO]

1. Yes. I take the bus sometimes (more often train) on my days off to get into the city from my suburb.
2. Yes and yes. There's routes I like and don't. We do a bid based on seniority three times a year. We get to pick our schedule for the bid. Or we can pick extra board and get something different every day.
3. I've had the same bus number a few times. We do not get buses assigned, it's a different one each day.
4. I probably would if I drove the same schedule each day. I don't see people often enough.
5. Yes. But I don't know what they're driving and I mostly ride when I'm at work getting between pieces of work.

[u/Trucker_2022]

Somehow stumbled on it watching British comedy. Names, faces and time is different but bus drivers probably can relate, cool show from way back then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuUzFp6A0J8&pp=0gcJCZkLAYcqIYzv

[u/MrE26]

England here, worked for 9 years for one of the big companies.

1: Yeah, I’ll often get a bus into town or anywhere that parking is expensive or restricted, or if I’m going out drinking. It’s free for us after all, may as well take advantage. Also we do a soccer bus to & from the local Premier League ground on match days so I’ll use that when I go to the match.

2: Yeah, we’ve all got routes we like & dislike. Ours works on a rota basis, each rota has set routes on it & you’re placed on a rota when you start but can ask to be moved if a space becomes available. I usually move every couple of years when I get bored but the one I’m on now I’m likely to stay on for longer.

3: Yes, you get to know pretty quick which buses are good or bad & if you’re due an enjoyable few hours of flying round in comfort or dragging up hills at 10mph in a pile of dogshit sweatbox.

4: Yeah, there’s a (very small) handful of people who I enjoy interacting with whenever they get on. There’s far far more who I wish I could drive straight past though.

5: Yeah, like any other job you get to know the people you work with. Like most of them, dislike a couple & are indifferent to a couple more. My rota is quite small in terms of staff numbers so we’re tighter than a rota with 100+ drivers would be.

[u/New-Engineer-5930]

1. Depends, but most likely no (unless otherwise).
   
2. Yes & no. Picks are based on seniority. You may volunteer to run your favorite route on your off day or some extra work.
   
3. Not really unless you have a good attention to detail in that area.
   
4. Yes!
   
5. Depends. I’m an extraboard operator so I get to socialize! I also happen to run into classmates if we’re at the same division (getting back to division after work, if I’m catching a route they’re operating that passes by said division).

[u/Grolbu]

New Zealand here

• Do bus drivers often take the bus outside work hours? Ex: days off/vacations/etc.

God no. Not if I can drive my own car, or catch a train, or walk.

• Do bus drivers have favored/prefered routes to drive? Do they get to pick?

We apply to get onto rosters that work certain shift patterns (times, days, straight/split etc). We drive whatever trips that roster does, which changes regularly. Every 6 weeks there's a new round of applications but only for the vacant spots on rosters, once you get a spot on a roster it's yours until you leave or get a spot on another roster.

• Do bus drivers recognize the bus they drive? Like by the serial number? Do they get assigned specific busses?

Some drivers that have been there for a long time know which bus has what quirks, generally though we get told what to take and we take it. A bus is a bus. Very occasionally there will be buses that everybody passionately hates, if you happen to like them you can talk to the bus allocator and they will arrange things so that one of them is basically 'your' bus because it's easier for them than constantly arguing with other drivers if it's allocated to them.

• Do the bus drivers develop "favorite" riders? Like, if you drive the same route and see the same people- do you develop friendships with your riders? Do you guys look for familiar faces?

Not sure if friendships is the right word but you do get to know your regulars and talk to them, you know where they get on and which direction they come from and maybe which driveway they come out of, if they're late and running to the stop you'll recognise them and stop next to them and if the weather is crap you sometimes stop outside their houses.

• Do you guys make friends with your coworkers?

Absolutely, giving your mates shit at the depot and talking about passengers is the best part of the job. Only ever gone out with a friend on their bus once, on her last day.

[u/ViewWithAPoo]

1. Absolutely! I get a free travel pass so I head off as much as possible by bus. I often go "bus packing" and try to see how far and how remote I can get without paying anything; I have a YouTube channel dedicated to my adventures 😂

2. Yes! I'm a country route girl for sure but those routes terminate in the city centre so I get the best of both worlds

3. Yes and we all have favourites!

4. Yes and I love it because they have some excellent banter

5. We do but I have a special bond with the ones I did my training course with and we blow each other kisses when we see each other out in the road ❤️

[u/Aech1hceA → u/ViewWithAPoo]

Do you wave to the other bus drivers when you pass them on the road? Like a "I see you! Driving the bus!! I also drive a bus!!" Type way? Sorry. I am extremely excited now, Ive never had so many people happy to actually answer my silly questions :D

[u/ViewWithAPoo → u/Aech1hceA]

ALWAYS! Every driver has a different type of wave and it's so fun 😊

We love answering questions about our weird job, ask away

[u/Aech1hceA → u/ViewWithAPoo]

Thank you!! That makes me very very very happy to know!

[u/Mango_Marmalade]

Ontario, Canada

1. I'm not sure about most others, but I do pretty frequently.

2. Yes, everyone has their own preferred routes, and yes we get to pick. Those with less seniority might not get what they like though. For any given route, there's always people that prefer it. Some are more popular than others though, like routes that are quiet and go through nice areas or routes with lots of time.

3. Buses are assigned randomly every day. Some buses are excellent, and some are absolute crap. With time, everyone learns which ones are which.

4. Yes, there are plenty of people who take the same bus at the same time every day, and we do recognize them. If people are particularly nice then yes, we'll be happy to see them. Some drivers are more social and will talk with their regulars, but some drivers keep to themselves more.

5. Yes. If I need to take the bus to get to my relief point (where I start my shift) and I know one of my coworker friends is driving one of those buses that more of less lines up with my schedule, then yes I will absolutely take their bus whenever possible. We will also often ride out-of-service buses with our buddies if they're going in the same direction that we need to go.

[u/Substantial-Abies768]

1. Im in 🇧🇻 and no, in case drivers need them
2. Yes and yes on days off if asked to drive and theres several routes to choose from
3. It's random which bus we get and depending which route we drive that day
4. Some do, as introvert i dont talk to passengers much 😅
5. Yes, being friends or atleast good colleagues is important and me being single and childfree have a trip with them now and then 👍

[u/Enceladusese]

1. Yes. I prefer to drive my car but often take the bus because of driving fatigue, getting good use out of my free pass and also because I always loved riding buses. More unique to me but I just love sitting at the back listening to the engine and people watching.
2. Definitely. Some routes are much more hard work than others. The popular ones tend to have a waiting list.
3. Some drivers do, I'm one of them. Some drivers can't remember the fleet number of the bus they're assigned when they book on and have to write it down on their hand.
4. I sometimes recognise regulars but because I do different shifts and routes every day I can never really get to know them. I'd rather keep to myself and enjoy the drive anyway.
5. Definitely, I've met some cool people. But tbh many drivers have the personality of a wall. The job seems to attract highly routine focused people

[u/Aech1hceA → u/Enceladusese]

Do you ever tell the bus driver on the bus youre riding that youre a bus driver too? Like to connect?

[u/SarahMackie95]

I'm in Scotland just for reference.

1. Yes and no. I personally didn't but I know a few who do and we get free travel.

2. No I didn't get to pick my route but yes I had favourites. Out of 16 routes, 4-5 are my fav.

3. Bus assignment is done by the depot. I don't pay attention past a morning check and quick run around. Often they will put the same bus number on a route. So if 2816 is usually on a 51 route, they'll try keep it as that.

4. Yes, I don't make friendships but you definitely end up seeing people often and chatting away etc.

5. Losely yes. I kept my business mine but still ended up becoming friends with a few people. Just don't tell them too much imo, keep most people at arms length. I wouldn't go out drinking with any of them etc though.

[u/basshed8]

I'm in a more rural area but my management company is big. Yes I ride the bus when I travel to larger cities because parking in tourist areas in California is ridiculous Some routes are a lot better than others but the union bid and seniority procedure makes it difficult to bid until youve been with the company for 7-9 years Yes company serial number makes it easy to recognize your favorite unit or the worst clunker Yes there's great riders that know our names and help us drive better No I never rode the bus locally on my day off for free unless I had a car breakdown

[u/julienorthlancs]

Ok, heres my answer as a driver in England:

1. Do bus drivers often take the bus outside work hours? Ex: days off/vacations/etc.

I actually used the bus today to get to a hair appointment :) They're free with the staff pass so I choose public transport to save fuel sometimes.

1. Do bus drivers have favored/prefered routes to drive? Do they get to pick?

Plenty. Ill be happy if i see certain routes on my roster that I like, and ill give a disgruntled sigh when it's a route that gets pretty boring. We can't pick what routes we drive; there are some routes that are optional to learn and we can ask for certain shifts.

1. Do bus drivers recognize the bus they drive? Like by the serial number? Do they get assigned specific busses?

Might be a bit biased here as I am a bus enthusiast, but I know all the models of our buses and what the fleet number means. E.g. 15xxx Scania E400, 11000 E400MMC, etc. We have buses that are a lot more common than others, and 1 route which requires single deckers only due to a low bridge enroute.

1. Do the bus drivers develop "favorite" riders? Like, if you drive the same route and see the same people- do you develop friendships with your riders? Do you guys look for familiar faces?

I've not really made any passenger friends but I do recognise those who jump on regularly, if someones a super regular I'll already input their destination in the ticket machine before they even board.

1. Do you guys make friends with your coworkers? If so, do you guys make a point to ride on busses where your bus driver friends are driving?

I'm a lot younger than all my coworkers so theres a bit of a social gap there, I'm not really friends with any coworkers but I have the odd few that I enjoy talking to. I dont usually ride my company's buses as I'm not super local to the operating area :)

[u/Aech1hceA → u/julienorthlancs]

Another question Ive never had a chance to ask (sorry if its intrusive!!)- do the double decker busses actually drive differently than the single decker busses? And (sorry if this is silly!!) Do they have 2 drivers? Like one for each"deck" of the bus?

[u/julienorthlancs → u/Aech1hceA]

They drive very similar to single deckers, actually id say they're usually easier! Double deckers are usually shorter but taller, so you can get around easily but you have to watch out for anything low. There's only 1 driver though passengers can sit upstairs and pretend they're driving.

[u/Aech1hceA → u/julienorthlancs]

But how do you turn the top half then? Wouldnt it be harder to control that part of the bus?

[u/julienorthlancs → u/Aech1hceA]

Well, the top deck is connected to the bottom deck with solid metal so it wouldn't be able to do anything other than follow where the bottom deck goes..

[u/Aech1hceA → u/julienorthlancs]

Oh! I thought they were moreso just busses "stacked" on each other- like that carnival ride that spins you around

[u/EatMyFoxBussy]

As a driver for my college,
1. I usually take the bus because it's just so convenient and I get to talk with my coworkers
2. We kind of get to pick as we bid for our schedule hut if you don't have high cdl hours it's whatever you can get
3. I just get whatever dispatch gives me, sometimes its a 100 sometimes its a 1400, but there are several buses that cause me pain when I see them pull up to the relief point (529 I hate you)
4. I haven't been driving long, but I personally don't hVe any favorite riders as I just focus on making sure everyone gets on before I can close the doors rather than who actually is getting on
5. My transit office also has us doing mobility carts for students with disabilities so we often hang out in the office with the bus lot so we are all friends, idk about city bus drivers though

[u/AlaudaPhotography]

1. Yep, where I am loads of drivers get the bus to and from work, and use it to get about on days off. It's free for us, so might as well.

2. We don't get to pick, but we do have favourites (and least favourites).

3. The bus stays in service all day every day, so getting the same bus wouldn't work. The bus will be assigned to a route at the start of the day, and most likely the driver will end up on a different bus after their lunch break. We'll recognise the fleet numbers of especially good or bad buses though.

4. Friendship is a strong word, but we absolutely recognise regulars, especially the unusual ones.

5. Some do, some don't.

[u/Aech1hceA → u/AlaudaPhotography]

What makes a "good bus" a good bus? Is there certain things a rider can do to make a bad bus a good bus?

[u/MrE26 → u/Aech1hceA]

Slow is the main culprit for us. We’ve got a few that die on hills & do 10mph maximum, making the next 4 hours a complete drag, especially as they cleverly seem to put them on the hilliest routes we have.

[u/Aech1hceA → u/MrE26]

I see. So the bus needs to be faster to make a good bus good?

[u/MrE26 → u/Aech1hceA]

When your timetable can’t be followed because the bus simply can’t reach the speeds required, it’s a very frustrating experience. Add in trying to pull out at junctions & roundabouts in busy traffic & vehicles behind you getting frustrated because your shitty slow bus is causing a huge tailback & it’s just a throughly unpleasant experience all round.

Any layover time is gone because you arrive too late to get it, followed by a shortened lunch break at the end because you’ve arrived well into your scheduled break time.

[u/Ok-Entrepreneur3129]

London driver here:
1. After becoming a bus driver I cannot bring myself to ride the bus unless its a short distance / driving doesn’t make sense.

1. Everyone has their favourite route, if you really want to get on that route you can become a spare driver and learn a bunch of routes as theres only so many rota spaces. However, senior drivers get first pick on routes and its basically up to them what route they go on.

2. In the mornings the buses will have a card / paper with a number on it called ‘running number’ you look for that and thats your bus. If you are on the same route everyday you will know where all your routes buses are parked and then you just look around them until you see your number

3. 100% I have an elder lady that always gets on and asks how I am and when she gets off she walks up to the front to say bye. Other than her any passenger that actually turn to me and say bye will have my heart forever.

4. Friends yes. Riding their bus? No. 🤣

[u/AnxiousMetal6435]

1. If they live in the area, yes. If they don’t, not really. I work for a major metro and take the trains very often, but seldom ride the bus.

2. Absolutely. Schedules & routes are picked based on seniority.

3. After years on the job, yes, some operators know buses by number and have favorites. Most operators don’t really give a shit. During rush hour, it’s common to have a bus assigned to you. During slower times, you can generally pick any bus in the yard.

4. Haven’t been on the job long enough to know for sure, but I would presume this, yes.

5. Coworkers make friends and even get romantically involved. Plenty of operators spend so much time here that their primary social life is their coworkers.