Rapid transit

Holy smoly! That bus ride out of town tonight was categorically "rapid transit." The bus driver must have just returned from the Matt Kenseth School For Bus Driving.

He gave meaning to the term "Express Route." I walk out of my building such that I usually wait between three and six minutes to catch the bus. Today, the bus was coming up the street as I exited the door and I had to hike it out to get to the stop. Even then, I boarded a moving bus and the guy never really stopped for the stop sign right there.

Then he floored it. And he kept the pedal to the metal as they say. This is what they call a "limited stop" route where they make a series of stops through the middle of town then go directly to a park and ride lot. Once this guy hit the main artery out of town he was cruising.

It bothered me really. Just because he took a fresh look at his Jeff Gordon Tips For Bus Drivers (VHS & DVD) didn't mean he had to hit it like he did. We were at our stop six minutes early and as I walked away he was sitting there waiting because he was so far ahead he had to kill time to get back on schedule.
Most bus drivers are great. And let's face it, it's a damn tough job. The passengers are assholes, traffic is threatening at all times, and it's tedious. In spite of that, most drivers are really nice and operate their machines safely and professionally.

So once in a while...