New Buses? Get Outta Here!

Deke's Note: It's relatively quiet in my quirky thought process sitting here tonight. Whilst I'm driving a bus, ideas galore flit about like a flock of downtown pigeons. Get back home, rubbing my hands in anticipation, and I find the pesky birds have pooped my windshield. One thing has remained constant though, and that's my feelings on the new Gillig 4000 buses. 

Whenever I drive a new bus, there are always new things to grow accustomed to. Our latest addition to the fleet have a few nice features, but many negatives that leave me scratching my head and wondering, "What'd they do that for?"

THE GOOD STUFF

Interior Mood Lighting
The best feature is the interior light color scheme: red. It's pretty and bright, making the bus look like a rolling bordello. Sometimes, this is an appropriate color given the antics of some riders. Red gives passengers enough light to read or see what they wish to while onboard, without splashing my windshield with distracting brightness. In fact, unless I look directly into the passenger mirror, I can't even tell the interior is lit up at all. In previous years' models, the lights were on the driver-side only, mostly red with one white light bar, which isn't bad but is pretty dark unless the doors are open. Throw the light switch to "All" and the bright white makes for visual chaos From the Driver Side.

Fare Treatment

Another plus? Not having to log into the fare box every time the motor is shut down. Of course, any motivated thief could figure out how to print their own freebie tickets, but I don't care. Most people these days use the new Hop Pass, the reader of which won't work unless the fare is logged in. Hoppers have quickly adapted the new fare system, which allows them to completely bypass the operator, further amplifying their lack of respect. Now, they don't have to interact with us at the fare box. At least most folks still thank me on their way out the door, so I've learned to accept the gradual decline of greeting me upon boarding. Such is the way of "progress," I suppose.

Floor It!
One last thing: the floors are of much-less slippery material than before. Given the amount of rain Portland drips every year, this is a bonus. I hate writing reports about how someone slipped and fell down. We may get another 45-minutes of pay for writing a report, but it often takes longer than that.

Okay, so much for what I like. Here's a much longer list.


THE ANNOYANCES

Bus manufacturers are always trying to improve the operation of back doors. Problem is, they constantly make them more difficult for the average bus passenger to understand. In the old days, we'd flip the switch and the damn things would just open by themselves. Easy pleasy, you just walk off and you're free of transit. Now? People actually have to think about what they're doing. Bad move, Mr. Corporate-BA-Degreed-Designer/Manufacturer without a clue toward the average transit passenger.

The doors are now electrically-activated. Whoever chooses to exit via the rear door is treated to an ongoing and perplexing saga. With every bus model, they change the method of operation. It's confusing the bus riding public. Hey, most bus passengers won't get onboard and notice the bus number, deducing what model they're riding and how to operate the rear exit. Except for bus operators and other transit employees, only a select few are wise to how simple it is now to open. Whenever I get a 4000 series bus, several times a day I key up the PA system to give a lecture on how it works. Those not plugged in and tuned out seem to benefit from the lesson, but many try to blast through the door like they're Buzz Lightyear, only to bounce off like Woody slamming into a telephone pole while looking at his phone. Instead, they shout out the decades old command, "BACK DOOR!" As if I'm going to get out of my seat, open it for them and then hold their little hand as they exit.

One day upon arriving early to a time point, I ventured to the back door, catching most of the passengers' attention along the way, and gave a demonstration, "Deke Style". Pointing to the green light above the door, then a wee bit lower, I pointed to the location of the sensor. Standing on the yellow rectangle just in front of the door, I put my hands just an inch or two in front of the yellow strips on the door in between the handles. Voila! Without even touching the door, I showed them how easily it opens when properly approached. I choked back my exasperated laughter at the sight of several open mouths. A bird could have dropped a worm into their gaping maws and they wouldn't have noticed. Although directions for doing this exact thing are plastered on and around the door, people today are oblivious to the obvious. Next, I put my now-bony ass near the door to open it. Next, with my knee, elbow and even my head. Each time the door played its part perfectly! Only problem is, I don't usually have time to give this demonstration. Hopefully, people catch on pretty soon, or the next year's model will further perplex them.

Breaking the Brake Interlock
Another issue I find extreme fault with is the interlock brake system, which is activated when the door handle is in the open position. A bus cannot move unless the doors are shut and the interlock is released by the operator. It takes a major stomp on the brake pedal to break this vital feature. Once it does move, you cannot use the accelerator on the 4000's for a full second, or it feels like you're pulling an enormous weight behind, as if our General Manager's salary, benefits and retirement nest eggs are bundled up in a sack tied to the back bumper. If you don't press the pedal correctly, the interlock stays on and it requires another press of the foot to get rolling again. Given we normally press the brake pedal about 800 times a shift, this "improvement" adds several hundred more painful moments to the long list of repetitive motions our job requires. After two days driving this new Gillig, my entire body hurt more than it usually does. Especially my right foot, specifically its big toe which I use for fine motor control on the brake pedal.

No Improvement to the Horrific Operator Seat
The operator's seat/compartment seems a bit smaller than previous models. I keep trying to move the seat back further, but it won't go any more. The seats seem as torturous as ever. They're as uncomfortable as a presidential speech. With the barriers now installed in every new bus, our range of motion is even more limited, especially if you're over six feet tall.

Instrument ClusterFuck
The instrument panel has gone digital. There are no overhead warning lights, which takes some getting used to if you normally drive the two-year-olds. The speedometer now has a huge number in the middle of the dial giving your current speed, as if we're too stupid to read a traditional gauge. (After several years guiding The Beast, its exact speed while rolling becomes inherent to us.) The stop indicator is now down there too, along with the fairly-recently-added amber light denoting a stop request. Looking down takes our view off the road. While properly scanning, an amber light at the top of the cluster and overhead makes the request obvious without having to redirect our gaze. Sure, there's an audible "ding" alerting us of a passenger stop request, but this is often activated just as we're leaving a stop minutes ahead of the next one. That's much too early, dear riders. There's no need to be the first to pull the cord. The intense concentration of the road dictates we appreciate that request being pulled at a more appropriate time, like about 10 seconds before that stop rolls into view.

Instead of adding brake air pressure to the panel, they put a tiny gauge up at the right side, apart from the warning-light panel. To see it, I now have to move my head to the right to determine the running air pressure. It's kinda hard to see because the steering wheel hides it, unless you're one who keeps the wheel straight up rather than angled toward you. Given the fact air pressure is vital to safe operation of the vehicle, this feature is puzzling.

What's a Bus Op's Least Favorite Color?
The exterior paint color of the new bus is ridiculous: dark blue, almost black. It's unsafe, just like our navy threads. Whoever decided our "new branding" (as if we're driving corporate cars to match our uniforms) should be dark blue should be fully-tattooed that color as punishment. Perhaps that's why they decided to put the stupid flashing light bar at the top of the buses, because in spite of the other lights, this color is nearly-impossible to see at night. Were they trying to cover up their horrible "branding" choice by adding the light bar as an aferthought?

I once chided a customer I almost missed one night for wearing all dark colors.

"Yeah right," he snorted, "so says the guy driving a dark-blue bus at night."

I didn't quite know how to respond to that. He was right. However, one of our higher-ups, when I complained about it via email, said they "won't be changing the 'branding' any time soon." Branding. Yet another hint of the corporate takeover of an industry that doesn't need it. How appropriate, given management's attitude toward us in yet another insulting round of contract negotiations. We're supposed to give up a lot, but they're not very generous. For all its yodeling about how they "appreciate" us, we're not convinced.

My Overall Evaluation
I give the new 4000-series a grade of "C-." As a bus operator who toils for 55+ hours every week, I expect each new bus model to be an improvement over the last. Once again, I'm disappointed along with most of my fellows. If those who make the ultimate decisions regarding these incredibly-expensive investments actually drove a bus in their lifetime, these observations would be obvious. My apologies to the dedicated operators on the committee which supposedly has oversight on Gillig model "improvements," but I'm afraid there's much more work to be done when it comes to improving the operator's experience while driving the new models.

Is Gillig our only choice? No. New Flyers are my bus of choice. There are several other manufacturers which should be competing for contracts in our transit vehicle purchases. The operators should be better-protected, our comfort and ease of operation the most important factors in each successive round of decisions. In my opinion, Gillig is failing those they're supposed to most appease: the operators. If Gillig doesn't improve, they should be cast off in favor of other manufacturers which actually innovate rather than accept the status quo.

Conclusion
I work 55 hours a week providing a valuable service to my fellow Portlanders. We are constantly assailed, whether it be our passengers or those charged with our protection and well-being. It would be nice to sit in an ergonomically-designed seat with intelligently-placed and constantly-improved controls and passenger-friendly amenities. I mean really... isn't it about time we provide charging stations for the cell phones which have become physiologically-attached to humanity? Given the move toward the technological domination of fare, isn't it logical to provide this vital service to our customer base? Pretty obvious to the thinking individual, but we're at the mercy of short-sighted corporatists who run this outfit.

Unless you're in favor of doing away with a human giving you a ride, I would expect passengers to flood our transit agency with comments in favor of our commitment to human domination of the operation of transit vehicles. Although technology eventually improves, humans tend to forget innovation stomps upon those who provide the millions of safe miles the 100+ years ATU 757 operators have provided. Do you feel comfortable at the thought of automated vehicles? I cannot ever feel good about replacing humans with machines. Compare the several millennia of human evolution with a computer's scant decades, and the difference is frightening at best.

"If I ever see a bus driving itself," one passenger told me, "that's the day I'd walk miles instead of riding it."

Yeah. That's where transit management sees our jobs going away. Forever. Remember Hal 2000? Unless we #BANDTOGETHER, this will become reality rather than a bad dream. Nightmares are something we dread. Let us hope the horrors of humanity bonded in the chains of technology are only those negatives derived from a bad night's sleep. Otherwise, we're doomed.