Davey Boy 2.0 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 So as usual i take the bus across the Chaudiere bridge this morning, from Ottawa into Hull. We get up to the first intersection to go into hull and this cyclist pulls up alongside the bus, taps on the driver's window and says something to him. A minute later the driver says to everyone on the bus, "Well i guess everyone has to get off the bus now" we get out and the cyclist is lying on hte pavement right in front of the bus. He says he's fine and doesn't say anything else.Strange stuff, I figure the bus guy must have cut him off or somethingAny idea what happened there Dinghy? Maybe this kinda thing happens every day and will just get forgotten as one of the many daily zany happenings on public transportation in Capital City... :crazy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Yeah, and why do I have to pay a hundred dollar fine? Fuck you OC Transpo fucks and your fucking 2.6 fucking percent because I couldnt find my transfer. The next time I am near one of those buses I am pissing on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peipunk Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Wow, thats really weird, and I bet your boss would roll his/her eyes if you tried to use that as an excuse for being late for work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Boy 2.0 Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I prefer the more colourful "My ride got drunk" excuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peipunk Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I prefer the more colourful "My ride got drunk" excuseYa, its a lot easier to get the sympathetic "you did the right thing" response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 That is strange...I wasn't at work this morning but I'll see if I hear anything this afternoon... Sure you had a transfer Andre, sure...your probably one of those guys sneaking on the back and costing the city a fortune in fares anyways...I know how cheap you can be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Fuck you OC Transpo fucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 bwah-hahhahahahhahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I notice that they don't give out transfer's, or rather "proof of purchase" thingies by default. I normally have to hesitate after dropping in coin to get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 that is one of my pet peeves being a bus driver...how hard is it to say "Transfer please" when you get on a bus? on a POP bus I hit the button till my finger bleeds but on a regular bus CMON!!! I am a person driving this thing, not a robot!! you can talk to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Oh, I know what I am saying in the future:"Give me a transfer you dick" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 that is one of my pet peeves being a bus driver...how hard is it to say "Transfer please" when you get on a bus? on a POP bus I hit the button till my finger bleeds but on a regular bus CMON!!! I am a person driving this thing, not a robot!! you can talk to me! I find that I'm always offered a transfer, even if it's not an articulated bus. And I always thank the driver for the transfer. I am a model bus patron. Which is why it drives me insane when a driver pulls the "I'm staring straight ahead and can't see you out of my peripheral vision" move and won't stop to pick me up even though I'm waving like a madman. Hey dinghy, do you think the driver can see me giving him the finger when this happens? I have also been known to kick the bus in response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 (edited) isn't it a receipt, not a transfer, that you can get a friggen $100 fine for after shelling out $2.75? Would the driver back up the passenger and say..."yeah he paid"?Curious, because I don't mind asking, but if I forget the receipt, does the driver got my back? Edited October 27, 2005 by Guest makes more sense I hope. I'm taking french so my grammar is getting really wacky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 usually your spelling and sentences make sense bouche.... hmm... i'd hope the driver would back you up, but realistically, they deal with hundreds of people a day, and i bet faces start to blur after the first hour. unless you have a memorable conversation or comment, i doubt the driver could say truthfully that he's sure you got a transfer. soo... all you gotta do is say something memorable everytime you take a receipt, and then hope the driver makes eye contact. 'NINJAS!!' OATMEAL!!! GUAM!!! EEEEEEEEERASER!! ad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 wait. your sentence kinda makes sense to me now...that was a doozy though. ad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatpatguy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 wait. your sentence kinda makes sense to me now...that was a doozy though. adyeah.. I had to read it like 12 times as welland ollie, I know RD would be the better person to answer this, but another friend of mine is also a bus driver and she said that she feels the bigges reason why drivers don't stop when you are running after the bus and they are pulling away from the stop is that they are totally concentrating on pulling back out into traffic and not having an accident so they don't see you at all.I dunno though.. I suppose if you are right at the door and stuff they'll probably see you.. just passing on the info I got Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 okay...OC Transpo Mythbusters edition...I am a pleasant bus driver and I know there a quite a few assholes out their that do the straight ahead thing...I say hello to every single person that gets on my bus with maybe a 50% return rate. 1. Booche...say anything thing you want...however, making threats and or swearing will get you another fine. (I know you were just joking, I think ) The minute anyone threatens me the bus is pulled over and Ottawa Police has been called. I don't tolerate swearing on my bus. Bus drivers are threatened all the time, 90% of the time it's not reported, and in worst case scenarios, when physical abuse happens, so called good samaritans rarely step up to the plate...so we are alone. 2. Ollie, you have a valid point...unfortunately we have some brutal people working for us, and we will see that finger...but that makes us more happy than anything. During rush hour, there is a rule, 3 buses up to the stop...load-up, first 3 buses gone...that could be the scenerio where guys drive by...also, high frequency routes are only supposed to make one stop, load up, then gone. Another thing that blows my mind is when people come to the front door, notice that the bus is sooo packed that I have people sitting on my lap, and get pissed off because I don't let them on!! Besides, I saw you walking down the street the other day and waved, and you just kept on walking 3. bouche...I agree, every person getting on a POP bus should get a transfer, without being asked, some people take them, some don't, If they don't hear me yelling to take a transfer then so be it, I ain't gonna chase them down. In most circumstances, if someone doesn't take the transfer and they get nabbed by the fare inspectors, I will back you up, if the fare inspectors ask me...which they rarely do. The question I ask of everyone...I am offering a service, which requires me to offer good customer service, as well collecting fares from customers. At the same time, I have to manouver a 40-60 foot bus through the streets of Ottawa, obeying the laws and watching for other idiot drivers... Say you go into the store to buy a pack of gum...you go in there fully knowing that you have to pay for that pack of gum. do you say to the clerk, "Sorry man, I don't have any money, can you let me go this time?" You know how many free rides I give on a daily basis to people who say this? The amount of freebies given out to non-paying customers is ridiculous, the city wouldn't be in such a financial crunch if every single person payed for thier ride. Anyways...It's my job and I got to do it... I'll also tell you this...if you are on a bicycle sharing the road with a bus, make contact with that bus and if you are not following the highway traffic act, ie, blowing red lights, you can face a $270 fine, and 5 points. Some dude took my buddy to court because he ran over his bike, not purposely of course, and the Crown was very adamant that the cyclist pay the full fine, because he went through the stop sign! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 and ollie, I know RD would be the better person to answer this, but another friend of mine is also a bus driver and she said that she feels the bigges reason why drivers don't stop when you are running after the bus and they are pulling away from the stop is that they are totally concentrating on pulling back out into traffic and not having an accident so they don't see you at all.I'm not talking about running after the bus. In that scenario I understand. I'm talking about the request bus stops where you have to signal your request. I assume the driver is thinking, "This guy can just get on the 95 behind me." That pisses me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 good points rubberman, makes a lot of sense.your story of the bike rider made me remember my only serious incident involving the OC transpo...I was riding my bike home from carleton one day, a bus was behind me but coming up fast. i looked back, made eye contact with the driver, and we kept going. after the bronson / sunnyside intersection heading towards bank st the road narrows a bit, and the curb juts out into the road and there are a few newspaper boxes, and a bus stop. there is plenty of room on the driver-side of the lane for the bus to give part of the road to the cyclist, but this driver kept going straight, knowing full well i was right beside him because we had looked at each other 3 or 4 times by now. So, full speed, with me having to choose to hit the bus or hit the curb / newpaper boxes / bus stop pole.... I went flying, got dinged up pretty bad, bike had a bent fork and bent wheels (you know how hard it is to bend a fork?). I got the first 3 digits of the licence plate, knew the route, knew the time the incident happened, so i go home and furiously call OC to report it. I give them all the info I had and the woman says there's nothing she could do, I didn't have the driver's name or bus number. WTF? How many #7s with the same licence plate are in the same spot at the same time???Anyways, I thought of going to court over it but didn't because I didn't want to deal with OC ever again.Since that incident I've had nothing but good service (occasional hiccups) and pleasant drivers. Cyclists do seem to get screwed by busses quite often though, just in my observations.AD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 That's another thing...WAVE AT THE DAMN BUS PEOPLE!!! how hard is that?I'm sorry you have such a hard time with the busses Ollie...Who wants to come for a ride, and I'll show you all the crap that we go through on a daily basis... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I also want to add that I hold equal disdain for problem bus patrons... like the idiots who think they can get on the backdoor of a non-articulated bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Sorry about that too AD, like I said, we aren't all perfect...I just get furious with cyclists who don't follow the rules of the road, thus getting in our way, I will give the bike a full lane usually when passing. unfortunatley as well, the woman you spoke to was correct, say the #7 route has 6 buses on it at a specific time, all bus models on the run will be the same, and if this is the case, the first 3 digits of the lic plate number will be the same...usually BL1 XXX for the #7 route...if you ever have any problem with a bus grab that 4 digit bus number, and the exact time and they will track us down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 (edited) That's good to know, yeah it was one isolated incident for me, I'm pro-OC. Except when they run me off the road hehe. I didn't know all the beginnings of licence plates were the same... Hmm... I called about 5 minutes after the incident, figured it would be easy to see which #7 was in the general vicinity. Oh well. This was 5 years ago, I'm not too worried about it. Do the busses have GPS on them? Edit: Sometimes it's hard to get the 4-digit bus number cuz you're not sure where it's located, or you're flying over the handlebars into a Globe and Mail box AD Edited October 27, 2005 by Guest More stickin' it to the OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 That's true...if you do get a chance the number is on all sides of the bus, usually in big white numbers.GPS is being installed on all buses right now, to be completed by April 2006. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 DO you know anything more about the GPS stuff? Got a link to anything? I'll google it I guess...Efficiency, thy name is GPSAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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