The View From Nathan's Bus

The United States of Floyd

5/31/2020

Before we talk about George Floyd, we have to talk about Eric Garner. Taking a step back deepens the picture.

1. The Landscape

On July 16, 2019, I walked into a coffee shop at 2nd and Lenora. The New York Times headline inside caught my eye because it mentioned Garner’s name, whom I’d written about in the days following his murder in 2014. Five years later, this headline read, “Eric Garner’s Death Will Not Lead to Federal Charges for N.Y.P.D. Officer.”

I paused.

For me, the Garner tragedy represented the quintessential contemporary example of the American Problem. Why?

Perhaps a better symbol is the prison system and the legalized slavery it perpetuates. I was as shocked as anyone else to learn about how black men were rebranded as dangerous, more than merely dense, in the days following the ratification of the 13th Amendment, the better to justify their arrest (the 13th amendment prohibits slavery– except among prisoners). “Reconstruction” indeed. Or that our government made widespread, calculated efforts to link blacks and drug use in the public consciousness during the Vietnam era (more by me on all of that here).

These are broad-ranging attempts at subjugation undertaken by the highest institutions in the land and they are infinitely complex, often too pervasive to see clearly. They’re ineffective as symbols.

2. What Eric Garner Means

The Garner murder, conversely, coalesces all these oppressive systems into one succinct moment. Four hundred years of inequality, fear and hatred are wrapped up in a few seconds, and as of the July 16, 2019 Supreme Court announcement, we can sit with the truth of the American state of things. Here, an armed white man can kill an unarmed black man who's crying for help, be recorded on camera, and be legally untouchable.

I first wrote about Garner here, offering some hopeful words on what we can do now, how we can look at others. I noted what the folks on my (largely black) bus were saying after Michael Brown– that cops have a tough job. That there's more than one side to every story. That Black Lives Matter protesters are always white, and that's okay, because we've got other obligations keeping us down. That we've gotta keep on keepin' on. I was struck by their optimism.

Of course there are countless unjust murders of poor blacks by whites in power. But as I stood there in the coffee shop, dumbstruck by the acquittal announcement, I wondered: Do those murders mean less? Or more? How has the Court's decision further solidified our understanding of the state of prejudice in America? To what degree will it help people recognize this is not a problem of individuals but something bigger, the insidious "System" so eloquently articulated in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, of institutional and unchecked government corruption not simply at the local level but every level?

3. Dark Night of the Soul

I looked at the front page and realized I was sobbing in public. It wasn't the picture of Garner's daughter on the steps of the Supreme Court, as you might assume. It wasn't the right-side column about Trump being denounced by the House as racist. It was the Garner article not mentioning the reason for the dropped charges until the end of the article. You had to turn the pages and find it buried.

As if it wasn't important.

It was the reminder, which I'm ashamed to say I sometimes need, that black people are told they are dirt by all levels of society, all the time. Try to imagine it, my white friends, and consider how it might influence your perspective. It's not the same as getting bullied or mistreated by this man or that company. It's the highest, most respected institutions together colluding to reinforce your suppression and limit your rights. How might you begin to think about the world? About yourself? (More on that at the bottom of this post.)

Can't keep the black man down, a song says. How quaint. Keeping the black man down is what the American societal infrastructure is all too adept at. Keeping them poor and therefore limited in the chess moves they can make; uneducated, and therefore unaware of the progress they can instigate; demonized, and therefore unattractive to others searching for solidarity.

I wept because I knew how my black friends would read the headline. This was an article whose informed takeaway was, Choking a defenseless black man to death in broad daylight is legal. A strange, sick feeling came over me: the impossible has happened.

They managed to kill a man twice.

5. What I Do Love About America

The most appropriate and the most inappropriate word for this travesty– Garner, Floyd, Brown and others– appear to be the same: Unamerican.

Appropriate, because the values this country is based on emphasize personal freedoms and exist in complete opposition to such a denial of the right to life.

Inappropriate, because America has for so long involved an unspoken problem such that all aspects of American Society are now best understood as they relate to the "peculiar institution." Our government's ongoing decision to ignore the legacy of slavery has come to define what America is: a contradiction at best, a hypocrisy at worst. No, there is only one adjective for this problem:

American.

I write this as someone who loves the idea of America and loves living in it. I am fully aware how much infinitely better life is here, at all class levels, than so many other places. The best evidence for this is the tenacity with which so many people give up their lives to start over here at great cost.

Only here will you find overweight homeless people. Here is where you come so you can speak your mind, pray, wear your hair down, be single, marry as you choose, get a trial, be allowed an education as a woman, vote, drive, divorce, access information, get around though disabled, not have to enlist, speak any language you like (there's no official one), have access to the best passport in the world, and, of course, chew gum. Some countries don't allow you to buy a house, defend yourself, or go outside alone. Some countries consider domestic violence legal. I love this country. It's the only one whose founding concept incorporates the mutable and evolving nature of the human organism. Were it that our founding fathers were alive to remind us, as they already once did, that their documents need to be updated with the same tenacity.

6. Life in the 21st Century

There were no riots on July 16, 2019. I was amazed. Any previous generation would’ve taken to the streets with helpless rage and fire. Isn’t violence the one voice always available to the oppressed?

No, actually. Not anymore.

People are quiet now. The word has gotten out, and I don't have to ask them why. I looked around at my fellow coffee shop customers. These are the youths who should be just as angry as those protesters of old. But we knew our place now. We knew we couldn't protest. Why?

Because modern life carries too great a risk. Societal infrastructure has shifted, such that protesting gets you into trouble in a way it never used to. Life is costlier now, and freedom much easier to lose. You can't afford to get arrested now. To fix a broken limb. The defining aspects of material success in the Twentieth century– getting married, buying a house, starting a business, raising children– these are all much harder to do now, and far more expensive. In the 1960s, a waitress job would support a single mother and her child. That's impossible today. You can't buy land anymore. You can't get an apartment with an felony record. Or trust you can get another good job after being fired from this one. The class of people who would protest can no longer guarantee the security of their place as citizens in society.

Violence is no longer the voice of the oppressed. Survival is the voice of the oppressed, except survival is silent. It isn't a voice. But it's how we get by.

Complicating all this is the emerging truth that systems are too corrupt for protests to accomplish much. No better example exists than the 2017 Women's March (my thoughts on being in it here), the first global protest since the invention of the internet and therefore the largest in history. It was the first time 5 million people did the same thing at the same time, and no meaningful change came of it. (Now, if that many people had voted...)

7. With Blood and Fire

Which brings us to Mr. Floyd.

In this new culture which has tried to suppress protesting by limiting the rights and futures of those who do so; which has attempted to normalize brutality against black men, by way of the court acquittal above and elsewhere; which is set upon by the twin blights and enormous distractions of terrible leadership and a killer virus; in the new contemporary urban culture of docility and retreat from conflict for worse or better…

Even in this environment, under these circumstances, people have shown they still care. They have passionately expressed themselves with the primordial, elemental tool of violent force. What does their unchecked fury reveal?

I would argue it proves real their innate hunger for fairness.

It unmasks a long-thwarted but unstoppable boiling desire for balance in the serving and order of things. In their violence, yes, innocents will be destroyed, fears stoked and flamed, wrongs made worse before they are better… but theirs is a thirst for justice.

And while justice may not exist in nature, it most certainly lives in the human soul. We disagree on what it is, but we all believe in each our own ideas, and we lean toward our definitions of goodness. I believe humans are basically good, and I believe the explosive outpouring happening now paradoxically proves that.

I would be crushed if there was no response to this society we live in now. Devastated. I had begun to assume that people cared, but didn’t say so out of fear; that they felt shackled by the physical and institutional dangers of taking to the streets, and thusly that protesting was a thing of the past. I am glad to be wrong. The chaos in the streets is most definitely called for. I don’t condone it because I don’t condone violent action, especially political violence, which too often harms uninvolved persons. I would call it misguided, even hypocritical. There is no dignity in lowering yourself from abused to abuser.

But I also know it is not my place to decide what is condonable.

8. The Boiling Point

George Floyd, a kind man and upstanding citizen by all accounts, will now live forever, if perhaps not as he might have wished. If Mr. Garner’s death represents everything wrong with American race relations in a single gesture, then Mr. Floyd’s murder exemplifies everything wrong with contemporary society in a single gesture. This is about more than race.

Floyd dying is the catalyst for the anger of the masses, but not its origin point. The people are angry about all of it. Floyd forcefully reminds us what we’ve become accustomed to is wrong.

We have tolerated an unaddressed history of slavery, traditions of lynching, shooting, and humiliating black men, a system for perpetuating slavery by way of prisons, judicial and legislative action that targets persons of color in the areas of housing, crime and employment, unchecked abuses of power and misappropriation of taxpayer resources, a flawed election system, a casual disregard for women’s equality and safety, a vehement denial of women’s bodily rights and rights as workers, a hyperwealthy elite hoarding most of the world’s wealth, the resulting unchecked poverty, a backbiting political system locked in unceasing standstill, disruption and mistreatment of immigrants seeking asylum, separation of families and the rebirth of concentration camps, a newsmedia swallowed by editorial opinion, a woefully mishandled medical crisis, a president who encourages and normalizes prejudicial attitudes against most demographics, and an ignorant and uneducated populace who perpetuate such prejudices and others.

We tolerated all of those things until George Floyd forced our eyes open. He was the last straw on this towering heap of injustice, a heap we’ve been feeling all the more potently in these days of poorly checked pestilence and plague. There is a desire for good in our frenzied souls, and people don't know where to put their energy. How to express their passion. Society has diminished the language of kindness. Some of us have always spoken it, sure, but everyone else still carries the memory of principle.

I find it almost touching, the way it's coming out, burping forth in formless savagery. You can take issue with the expression, but you can't blame the intent. Today's righteous chaos would be met with pride by the author of these lines:

"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness], it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government."

That's not from some anarchist's cookbook. That's the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Thomas Jefferson writes further in the same document: "When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce [the people] under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."

Justice does not exist in nature, but it lives in the human soul. And it cannot be eradicated.

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Name Caller: Final Edition

5/29/2020

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What will we call each other sixty years from now? Sixty years ago we thought we knew. We didn't. Some of it won't be the same, and some of it will. The delirious human project will continue forth, and from time to time we'll look back on today. These were the names we used to use, that have been said and will be said again– sweet nothings of love and hate and everything in between.

Which works for me.

This latest list (same the earlier three below) are culled from the last 2 years, and include many of my personal favorites. Here goes~

Dream Machine
Family
Big Man
Little Man
Young Man
My favorite Millennial
The famous One
Time and a Half
Hollywood
Doogie (this one just won't go away...)
The Ghetto Tour Guide
Could I Get a Transfer
King Bus Driver
Captain of the Ship
Number 7
Adam
Jonathan
Nick
White Woman
Bubble Tea
Mr Kind Hearted
Mr Friendly
The Old Guy Who Looks Really Young
The Young Father of Metro
Ma'am
Nigger (as an epithet, on the 5)
Nigger (as a term of endearment, on the 7)
My Son
Korean Bus Driver
Homes
Lil Bro
Caballero
Rookie
Patrick
Nerd
Objectively the Best Bus Driver in the City
Ryan
The Personification of the Movie Amelie
The Natalie Portman of Bus Drivers
The Ernest Hemingway of Bus Drivers
The Studs Terkel of Bus Drivers
The Mister Rogers of Bus Drivers

I'll see you out there.

Other names Nathan gets called! A list in three parts: 1, 2, 3.

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Vern One

5/28/2020

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His name is Vern. Why does this Norman surname, which means “alder,” seem so appropriate? For me the title calls to mind verdant, as in burgeoning green growth, and verve, as in Vern’s beautiful toothless grin every time he steps on. He’s the friendly neighborhood stalwart, the fifty-something black American face with the scruffy (and I do mean scruffy) beard and a kind word for everyone.

I love this guy.

I particularly enjoy how unkempt his appearance is. His good humor offsets it perfectly, upending expectations and lighting up the other passengers with newfound knowledge of what’s possible. He makes you look differently at every soul with holes in their coat, tattered sagging jeans, uneven fingernails and shoes worn down past the heels.

“Hey, Vern!”
Someone behind me muttered, “Aw you know Vern?? Das wassup!!”
“How you been doin?” I asked.
“Aw, I'm…” He trailed off, unable to give a pat answer. He was pushing a walker, which I’d never seen before. He’d been a cane man or less up until now. I tried to cheer him up. “Good to see you're still hanging in there.”
“Yeah. They got me in this walker though.”
“I hope it helps a little.”
“Yeah, it do.”
“It's always good to see you man, still going strong. You always have a smile. Any man that could smile in this modern life– that's beautiful, dude! I respect that so much!”
“Thanks man! Ah could still smile 'cause a friends like you!”
“Aw thanks, man!!”

Ideas are best countered with other ideas, and emotions best conquered with other emotions. He seemed a touch demoralized, reduced by the vagaries of old age. We know it’s coming, but somehow we never believe it’ll really reach us… until it does. One day you and I will struggle to stand from sitting, or need help in the bathroom. We will be lucky to live to such an age, and will hopefully then be better equipped than now at putting pride aside.

I endeavored to restore his mood tonight as he has so countlessly done mine over the years. I like to think we got somewhere together, turning our feelings around in the space of a few words, gifting each other with a new slant; a reminder of our mutual respect and appreciation.

Love. It is the name underneath all good things.

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Eric, Fully, II: John

5/25/2020

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In this post from May of last year I described him thus, writing that I’d never seen:

“a face this scruffy, shaggy, stubbly, brow-beaten, aged, hollow, and slight. None of the Erics I sat next to in school dragged around a garbage bag large and lugubrious enough for me to fit inside of– or at least, not yet.

This Eric did, though, and I was sorry to have forgotten his name, because he remembered mine. I'll have to build up the nerve to ask him again– again– someday. His voice was raspier than a Leonard Cohen buzzsaw, and his name, ordinary as it was, served as a reminder that he was as we are, regular folks trying to make something of ourselves, for a month or for an hour."

As it turns out, I was able to work up the nerve to ask his name, which is John. Tonight John said only one thing, but it made my night, perhaps because, like many of things John says, it was so completely unexpected coming from such a gruff countenance. When I can manage to understand his slurred voice, I usually come away feeling moved.

This evening he didn’t say anything for the whole ride– until he was ready to leave. He just watched me as I worked with the people and gradually got us block by block through the Valley.

“I'm taking a liking to you," he finally grumbled as he stepped off. "You show genuine concern for your passengers."

I call them Mark Twain moments. This was another one. You might not believe a movie where the scruffy street denizen used the phrase "genuine concern" after a period of contemplative observation.

But it does happen.

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How to Drive the 7: The Complete Care Package

5/24/2020

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I figured I'd get this all into one place. I hope these are helpful. Best of luck, and I'll see you out there!

Driving
These are step-by-step tips on zones, turns, wire and a lot more, with personal commentary by yours truly! We do one full loop. All sections assume you have a 60-foot trolley and are driving the connected 7/49 at night. More information in Pt I; this is me, not Metro or Training. They aren't rules, but suggestions and recommendations that have worked for me for twelve-plus years.

Pt I: 7S, from Jackson to Henderson
Pt II: 7N, from Henderson to Pike (includes Third Avenue NB)
Pt III: 49N, from Pike to 47th
Pt IV: 49S, from 47th to Jackson (includes Third Avenue SB)

People
The 7 isn't hard because of driving. It's challenging because of its clientele.

Tips on Fights
Tips on Sleepers
For New Bus Drivers: Thoughts, Tips, and Stories – A little bit about everything– race, homelessness, defusing people, tone of voice and more.

You
Take care of your body. It's easier than you think, and your mind will feel benefit.

A Love Letter for My Colleagues: Exercises and Stretches for Operators
What I've Learned From Other Bus Drivers (covers health, driving maneuvers, passenger interaction and more)

Morale
Let's be our best selves, and learn from the best in each other. Some thoughts on what I love about my sisters and brothers behind the wheel.

Dealing with Fear
We're living in a paranoiac's dream right now, and the newsmedia is having a field day playing with our anxieties. Here's a reality check while you're on the job or preparing for going out there.

Zen and the Art of Driving the 7
Nathan on Assaults
Slow Healer: Dealing with trauma and the big questions
The Boring Truths (It's Not That Bad)
The Boring Truths, Pt II: Boring Addendum

I'll end by repeating what I write at the end of Driving, Pt IV, above:

And now it's time to go to Rainier. Maybe you're excited; maybe you're nervous. That's okay. Maybe you're tired. Maybe you just got yelled at.

But you've made it through this before.

And because of that, you'll make it through this time too. My trainer Gil told us more than once: This system exists to serve, specifically, the very old people, the students, the poor, the homeless, the disabled people. They are your main customers and you should be grateful to them, because they are why you have a job.

Look at all those faces who didn't yell at you, who are so easy to forget. The hundreds who were nice, or just neutral. The maids, moms, babysitters, gas station attendants, secretaries, orderlies, those who are lost and those who are found... The people with hidden lives, unknown lives, who live with as much richness, madness, peace, uncertainty, dreaming, and questioning as you do. Right now, you are here for them. These are your people.

Let's take them down the street.

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How to Drive the 7, Pt IV of IV: Route 49 Southbound

5/23/2020

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We went to the Valley. We went back through town. We came up here. How hard can this last leg be? Well, as it turns out, it’s never over 'til it’s over. It might all blow up in your face in the last five minutes, and you want to be present and at your best for all of it. Touch your toes, arch your back, hang from the bars, and… let’s do this.

Turning onto 45th

So this is one of those turns we might conceive of less as one 90-degree turn than two 45-degree turns. You also have to do this when you pull out from Base, going from eastbound Royal to northbound Airport Way. The wire is shallow in its turn there and here, and so you align the back of your bus accordingly. You’re still rocking and rolling, moreso than in a 90-degree turn because a shallow turn has more blindspots and risk of matching your A-pillar in movement with a pedestrian.
Almost all vehicle-pedestrian accidents are left turns, and not just left turns but shallow left turns.
Are you a pedestrian? Know that any car, truck or bus driver who’s not actively looking around their A-pillar (part of car separating driver window from windshield) may not be able to see you at all.
No deadspot for you, but you still get the satisfying ker-klunk of joining up with the straight wire on 45th, right as your front passes that utility pole on the right.
Careful of the concertgoers at the Neptune, standing close to the curb;
Similarly, careful of the trees just past them, who have a comparable habit of also leaning into the roadway. Those rebels.

Turning onto 15th

This is perhaps the turn on the whole route which most forces you to keep your skills up. We pull up to the stop bar, hugging the left edge of lane 1. Green light; we edge forward until, as per usual, the middle of our front doors are aligned with the curb of the road we’re turning right onto. We'll be nice and let the college kids cross the street. Yes, they're distracted, but you remember those heady days. They're preoccupied with passing their exams, worrying about the future, and impressing each other.
We start turning the wheel, but not all the way. Maybe we start by turning the wheel half of the maximum amount it can turn. We inch forward.
We work on turning the wheel the rest of the way as we slowly complete the turn, watching the rear wheel and watching our left front corner.
Don’t rush; you were never going to make the light at 43rd anyway, that always turns red. Take your time here.
Don’t go up on the curb. If you do, do so slowly, especially as you come down off the curb (if you screw up, do so professionally!).
Say hi to that driver in the oncoming left turn lane. Yes, very important part of the process…

43rd

This is where people can get the 271 or 556 to Bellevue, or the 542 to Redmond, or the 48 to Mt Baker.
Someone will ask you if you go the light rail station. You don’t. At this stop, everything besides for 49 and the 70 goes there. You can also say that you go the Capitol Hill light rail station, even though that’s not what they’re talking about;
I’ve found that answering questions with a tone implying you don't want them onboard creates issues which don’t arise if you answer questions with a tone implying you're okay with them joining.
It’s all about tone, and the respect implied; people just want to be respected.
To hurry people up in boarding, I might say, “come on in!” in the way you’d greet them if you worked at a bakery, rather than “get the beep inside,” et cetera, which can be, erm, less effective.

40th

So. Here’s where we trip our right turn signal to get on that right turn wire. It lines up with our front bumper crossing that one small tree and the brown square of landscaped dirt it resides in. Keep it slow through this, as I’ve lost poles here doing the switch too quickly.

Campus Parkway

You don’t need to split the turn onto Campus Parkway. You’ve got just enough space to comfortably make it all happen, without difficulty. This is easier than getting from 45th to 15th.
A deadspot as you finish the turn– lines up with the 3-minute parking sign.
Another deadspot as you cross U Way– lines up with the service doorway in the building on the right.
There’s special work about a coach-length nearside the stop bar to Brooklyn.
Worried about running early in these pandemic days? Live it up sitting out these massively long light cycles.

Merging onto Eastlake

Take control. You’re massive. I began driving out of Bellevue and East Base, the best places to learn how to drive buses because of the easy road conditions, and back in 2007 the freeway stations on 520 were a major challenge to merge out of. You just had to “go bang out into the lane,” as Dean told me, and it’s advice I’ve never forgotten; I never would’ve made it out of Evergreen Point otherwise.
You inch forward (or more) in situations like this, but try not to stop. If you stop, it will be harder to get in. I only stop for bicycles, because they’re fragile.
But beyond that I try to keep moving as I merge on. Sometimes you do have to wait, but my modus operandi is to “pretend like I don’t care–” while remembering that I very, very much actually do care– because contact with a vehicle here would likely be a Preventable, in that they’ll say you could’ve waited.

Crossing Eastlake Bridge

Much like in the previous direction.
Sectional insulator deadspot as you approach the grating, and after the bridge, slightly after where you think it will be.
Because you have to do 9mph as a trolley on the bridge (I throw my 4-ways on while doing so), you don’t need to split; there’s enough room for you to go slowly.
Merging left here is tricky, but you can do it. You have the significant advantage of size. Wave your arm or flash your 4-ways in gratitude. Everyone likes being thanked.
You signal left to get that left wire, slowing to 9mph just as you pass the little green double street sign on the right sidewalk, the one explaining about bicycling distances. That’s where the deadspot is.

Harvard

Another sectional insulator as you’re cruising up the hill– lift your foot off the power right as the double yellow line on the left ends, halfway up the hill at the intersection of Gwinn, one of those streets no one knows about.

Roanoke

Stay in lane 1, even if traffic is piling up in it. Lane 2 will result in lost poles during the turn.

10th: Angling into zones

I pull all the way up to the zone flag at 10th and Roanoke, but leave my back end angled into the roadway.
I often angle into zones, because it’s safer to reenter traffic when it’s busy. I realize this isn’t exactly altruistic, but you’ve got to get your people back on the road somehow. Training won't tell you to do this, but only because they can't; but any veteran driver worth their salt will know which is easier and ultimately safer.
Make sure your front door is less than 6 inches to the curb, in case someone needs that close access that they can’t get from the back doors; and
As you reenter traffic from this position, keep in mind the back end of your coach will partially block your view in the mirrors until you’ve pulled out a little. Slowly does it…

Miller

Yes, the pizza delivery cars are often blocking the zone, or blocking enough of it that I go instead for an in-lane stop, rather than blocking the intersection behind me. Making an in-lane stop is easier than standing around getting angry about it.

Newton

A bit before those musical S-curves there's a sectional insulator.

Galer

Between here and where the lane alignment shifts you can hug the right edge to avoid the bumps.

Prospect

Flooring it through this dip will result in lost poles.

Aloha

The deadspot is just past the small driveway beyond the first house– the big white house with the misleading “For Rent” sign that’s actually only for a parking space– on the right.
Are you slowing down to 9mph? Of course you are, because you're such a swell operator, and you're not in a rush, of course not!
You're not thinking about how you have to go all the way to Rainier Beach and have over an hour of driving before you; don't think about that. There is only this block. Think about this block and the next one. Think about the next intersection and next zone. It's easier to be happy when being present; nothing else exists right now. No need to rush.

Roy

Your OBS interior signage calls this zone “Broadway E,” which although technically true, is misleading. You have a whole slew of stops on Broadway beyond this one, and those college kids going out on the Hill for the first time may think this is what they want, but they probably want Broadway and Pine.
This is not at all necessary, but personally I’ll just override the OBS voice and call it out as Roy Street. If you press PA when leaving a zone, it’ll usually stay on long enough (60 seconds) in time to mute the next announcement and allow you to do it yourself. Be mindful that it will pick up your conversation if you leave it on though. If you’re unsure how long the PA will last, you can always press it twice to restart it so you have enough time to speak. For this particular zone, OBS calls it out between Prospect and Aloha; she speaks in almost exactly the same precise locations all the time.

Republican

Another rare instance where I don’t pull far forward; here I stop just prior to the shelter, clearing the intersection while ensuring I can get out okay.
Transfer to the 60 to Seattle University and Harborview.
I call out the zone at Thomas as Thomas and John, because John is where they can get the 8 or 43 going up to Safeway.

John

You won’t make the light at Denny– run this intersection at 9mph for the sake of all that wire up there.
Your last piece of special work is further forward than you think– it’s for the wire rejoining the 43 to your southbound lane, and happens as you pass one of the business storefronts– I’m forgetting which one because they’re always changing on this block. Remember when Twice Sold Tales was on this corner?
The signal timing has recently been retimed so there’s a delay before it turns green.
This is a camera light.

Denny

This is where we sit for hours contemplating life. The walk signal has turned on, but your light will stay red for a while longer. If you're in a rush, you'll hate everything, including life in general, while waiting this one out. Doesn't rushing automatically and immediately make everything frustrating?
Slow for that streetcar wire as your rear tires cross the tracks.
I advertise this zone as the light rail stop if people ask about it rather than Thomas; it’s closer.

Pine

OBS calls the next stop, outside the college, as “Pine,” though the stop around the corner on Pine is closer to Pine.
This is where you’ll lose most of the late-night revelers, who are interested in the bars on Pike. Someone will ask you “where all the clubs are at;” this stop or the next are ideal.
A prime example of a zone where I angle in; doing otherwise is a lot of work for added risk and difficulty reentering the road.
Are you going straight down Broadway, back to Base? Tell the people. I try to let them know all the way back at Campus Parkway– we don’t go downtown, but we do go to Capitol HIll, and First Hill and the ID, but not downtown. Your signage will say “49 Broadway,” rather than the standard “49 Downtown / 49 via Broadway,” but nobody notices the difference (Planners! Help– can it say "49 Broadway Only"? Pretty please?).
Aside from a few smart cookies who know your trip and want to take it to Boren and Yesler or Broadway and Union, most folks will be unaware. Give ‘em a heads up, perhaps back at Denny where they can still get light rail or walk back to a 10. (Although the 11 runs all night, it’s infrequent and unreliable as all passengers know, for reasons outlined in the previous post.)

On Pine

I split the right turn onto Pine. Some people don’t, and I have no idea why. Maybe it’s for the sportsmanship element of seeing if you can do the hard turn. I can dig that, I suppose. I like driving trolleys for the challenge, but for some reason I always split this, because we’re all made of contradictions, and because why not. There's room.
You want to hear the click of the wire switching to turn right, and the single deadspot of you performing the turn.
People will ask, “do you turn into the 7?” And you get to give the desired answer, saving them a transfer downtown at night, which no human ever wants to do: “yes, number 7!”
They’ll also ask for courtesy rides, for which you also get to say yes; as with the reverse, half of these guys will be gone in a few minutes. They're only going to 5th. The street youth on Capitol HIll are remarkably polite. I do not know why this is, but I’m into it.
No need to rush down Pine. Someone will wander out from the pizza place (try the Pesto slice at Hot Mama’s– to die for), or dash out from R Place with their friends, laughing without a care in the world. You save so many lives every night, just by coming to work and deciding not to run over people. You save countless families years of heartache. Gosh. You’re so awesome.

Bellevue

The street name amuses me, as this area has nothing at all (on so many levels) to do with the posh environs of the city across Lake Washington; I’m guessing the name is in reference to the original French term meaning ‘beautiful view,’ as there probably once was one here before the buildings came up.
3 deadspots. The first two are closer together; then the third, then the zone flag.
Are they still deenergizing the wire for construction here? Hopefully that’s ancient history, but we’ll include this tip for future deenergizations or other situations requiring ESS: You can press ESS just before you get to the dead wire, and now you merely have to come to a complete stop and the bus will switch to battery mode instantaneously.
As you leave the zone your signage changes to say "7 to Rainier Beach," and you get a moment of the old 7 on Capitol Hill, and isn't it a glorious feeling? You're doing the route of all routes, the light rail shadow and the busiest route before it got split and the RapidRides came along. It's still the most popular route if you combine 49 and 7 ridership. Crossing Boren, drifting down into the vortex that is Downtown, knowing you'll come out the other end with a motley crew you get along with. Why do any other route?

9th

A rare side wire I don’t always use. But it’s there, if you need to hold for time while a 10 goes around. If you will be there a while, pull far enough forward that a coach can service the zone behind you. When not holding I still go as far as I can before hitting the driveway on the right– I think this allows a 40-footer to squeeze in behind you.
So you have an opportunity to signal left farside 8th avenue and get on wire that turns you left on 7th, right on Union, onto 2 options of wire: a leftward lane on Union that turns left on 3rd, or a straight lane that gives you 1st avenue (north or south).
Most likely you do’t want any of that tonight, so you'll be sure to not signal left between 8th and 7th, and merely slow down for the special work, getting it down to 9mph for that moment when you pass the 3-minute parking sign on the right.

5th

The zone flag is hidden by a utility pole.
Crossing 5th, signal left, because you’re now a 7 and you need to turn left on 3rd (we’re ignoring the 49 turnaround on 2nd and Pike, as that’s easy to do and only happens in the daytime).
The split of the 2 lanes of wire is at a wider angle and is thus more prone to dewirement if you’re going too fast; take it slow to make sure you get on it.
A deadspot beep means you got on the left-turn wire onto southbound 3rd; no deadspot means you’re on the straight wire for crossing 3rd.
Get in the left lane as soon as you can, as the left lane wire is somewhat far to the left.
Slowly down this slick cobblestone during the rain…

Turning onto 3rd

And we take it deeeep, the better to keep under the wire and the better to see who’s crossing this very busy intersection– the center of the universe, as I call it. Forget Fremont. This block is it.
Are you a pedestrian on 3rd between Pike and Pine? You probably don’t need me to tell you this, but just to make sure: the west side of the street is safer.
Note the deadspot as you wrap up the turn. Now you can speed up.

Third Avenue Positioning

We go over the two flavors of skip-stopping is and how to do each of them here.
We cover what doing a northbound 7 up Third looks like in terms of positioning and skip-stopping here.
Don’t have time for the above links? Here’s a recap for how to “do” 3rd in three lines:

Is there a bus stop that isn’t yours? Get in the left lane;
Don’t pass buses that use the same stops as you (unless they have their 4-ways on);
The bus in lane 1 (the right lane!) has the right of way.

The biggest thing, really, is to not block bus stops that aren’t yours. Using lane 2 is safer, more open, doesn’t annoy other operators, and clears up confusion for passengers what stops you stop at.
Does someone want off while you’re in a second lane? I try to give them a gentle no that lets them know I want to but can't: “I’m so sorry, we’re in the next lane over so I can’t. I want to, but there’s just too many eyes (supervisors) down here.” Or I’ll give them a short negative answer that doesn’t involve the word ‘no’: “I’m sorry. We’re almost there.” Are they being insistent? “I know it’s annoying, and I would totally help you out, but my boss is kinda uptight.” That may not be true, but the line is useful– everyone’s had an uptight boss. This has gotten me out of more than one session of bad vibes when we go from 5th/Pine clear down to 3rd and Union without stopping.
And here’s your lane positioning for a southbound 7 going down 3rd:

After turning onto 3rd from Pine, using both lanes of 3rd to do so (you’ll do that without thinking about it; you need both lanes), get in lane 2 and go up to Pike. This way you’re not blocking those RapidRides and 21s stopping at Walgreens.
Crossing Pike we slow for the deadspot that’s aligned with the blue newspaper bin on the right sidewalk;
We remain in lane 2 as we pass the Burien bus stop between Pike and Union, but once we pass their zone flag we merge right, arriving in lane 1 for nearside Union, or farside Union, if you weren’t able to merge before the light.
Do not signal right as your rear wheel crosses nearside Union; there is a switch to turn right onto Union, and you don’t want your poles going that way.
No, you’re not supposed to merge while in an intersection, but if for some reason you have to and you know that switch is up there, use your 4-ways.
Use the side wire at Union. There’s a lot of service going through here, especially dropoffs who want to get around you, and you could be here for ages with loading.
Are you early, or confident you’ll become early as you approach Jackson? Pull forward. The side wire extends all the way to the light, giving you plenty of space to hold. Step out for a second and take in some of the classical music.
Crossing Union– slow to 9mph as you hit the farside crosswalk; this is where the side wire rejoins the straight wire. Get in lane 2 if you haven't already.
Seneca– you’re still in lane 2, but you don’t signal left because that would trip the route 2 wire.
Slow to 9mph for the deadspot you want to hear (if you only heard a sectional insulator deadspot or no deadspot at all, you’re on the 2 wire); it should happen by those two manhole covers on the left that are closer to each other than the others.
Is there a 2 turning left, blocking lane 2? I won’t begrudge you the urge to go around him in lane 1– if the walk sign shows you’ll have enough time to clear the intersection and not block the Spring St zone, which isn’t yours.
Still in lane 2 as you cross Spring, maybe letting that C Line to your right get out in front of you– yielding to the coaches on the right as per 3rd Ave rules.
There’s a sectional insulator after most of your bus has crossed Spring.
Upon crossing Spring, merge right so you’re in lane 1 at nearside Madison, ready to service the zone at Marion.
Special work as you cross Madison and again right afterwards– one deadspot for the first, and none for the second. A second deadspot means your bus thinks you want to turn left on Marion, which your 4500-series bus is too heavy to do!
After servicing the zone at Marion, immediately merge left so you’re not blocking the Columbia zone. Even if no one's behind you, it's just good form. After all, you take pride in your work. Right?

Columbia Street Zone breakdown

This has nothing to do with the 7, but it’s important. A quick aside for West Seattle and Ryerson drivers: There are 2 zones at 3rd and Columbia, and they’re confusingly both called Columbia.
The first, nearside Columbia, is for the 21X, and all other routes that use the former viaduct– that is, routes that turn on Columbia, like the C and Central Base trippers.
The second zone, farside Columbia, should really be called Cherry (Planners! Help!), and it pains me to see buses pass people there because they incorrectly stopped at the first zone. This zone, nearside Cherry, is for the 21 Local, D and E dropoffs, and Ryerson routes that continue south on 3rd, like the 26/28 family and the 124.

Third Avenue positioning, continued

So anyways. You’re a 7 in lane 2 passing at Columbia, knowing that you stop at neither zone. Farside Cherry, you avoid signalling left so as not to get on the 3/4 turning wire, but you slow down for that special work as you merge right. The work aligns with your front passing the red wood and glass doorway. No deadspot; great. You got it.
You’re in lane 1, servicing the zone nearside James.
Remain in lane 1 as you drift toward Yesler. Oddly, none of these folks loitering outside the Morrison ever want your bus.
There’s a sectional insulator right at the edge of where you’d stop for Yesler’s red light– a little past, actually. I pull past this deadspot to get it out of the way.
Go deep for the turn, checking in advance to make sure you have enough room on 3rd South and won’t block the intersection.

Main

The special work is as you pass the wooden telephone pole with the smallish yellow and white bus sign. You should hear no deadspot.
This is the one stop you share with the 124, which some folks may want so they don’t have to walk.
So you’re crossing Main, and you’ve got your left turn signal on because you want to go leftward onto 2nd Extension.
You’ll hear 1 deadspot– that’s you crossing the old streetcar wire– and immediately after is the switch activating and then tripping you onto the left wire, as you wish.
If you hear a second deadspot, you did not get onto the 2nd Extension wire. Years ago, when this would happen to me I would just continue straight on 3rd South and make a left on Jackson, but with the advent of the First Hill Streetcar that left-turn wire has been removed. You have to get on the 2nd Extension wire in order to head east on Jackson.

5th

Gettin’ back to where we started. Use the side wire (Please Lord!) unless there’s a coach up front already on it who’s got his 4-ways on and you don’t have to hold for time.
This way, buses going to Base can pass you, and they'll be thrilled and thankful you’re on the side wire, because they want to go home!
If you’re on the side wire, there’s no deadspot in the zone other than the ones getting you on and off the siding lane (that first one is as you pass the middle doors of Union Station on the right);
But if you’re on the straight wire, there is a sectional insulator that’ll nab you. It’s in the middle of the block, as you pass the staircase railing in between the utility pole and the bus shelter.
Are you passing a coach who’s on the side wire, headed straight eastward on Jackson? As you’re passing them and crossing 5th avenue, do not signal right. You will trip the right-turn wire onto 5th and dewire in spectacular fashion. Use your 4-ways to indicate that you’re merging right instead.

And now it's time to go to Rainier. Maybe you're excited; maybe you're nervous. That's okay. Maybe you're tired. Maybe you just got yelled at.

But you've made it through this before.

And because of that, you'll make it through this time too. My trainer Gil told us more than once: This system exists to serve, specifically, the very old people, the students, the poor, the homeless, the disabled people. They are your main customers and you should be grateful to them, because they are why you have a job.

Look at all those faces who didn't yell at you, who are so easy to forget. The hundreds who are nice, or just neutral. The maids, moms, babysitters, gas station attendants, secretaries, orderlies, those who are lost and those who are found... The people with hidden lives, unknown lives, who live with as much richness, madness, peace, uncertainty, dreaming, and questioning as you do. Right now, you are here for them. These are your people.

Let's take them down the street.

2 Comments

How to Drive the 7, Pt III of IV: Route 49 Northbound

5/20/2020

4 Comments

Where were we. That’s right. We’d just come all the way up from Rainier, and are now in the middle of the right turn onto Pike from 3rd. You activate the switch as detailed in the previous post, and are now ready to do the deed. (Click here for the first post in this series and more explanation.)

Turning onto Pike

There are 2 deadspots in this turn; if you don’t hear the first one as the left corner of your coach crosses the north-south crosswalk on Pike, stop immediately, because you’re not on the turning wire. Check yourself in the right exterior mirror.
The positioning of this first deadspot is tricky– you have to choose a moment without pedestrians crossing such that you can accelerate and then coast through this deadspot without hitting or near-hitting anyone. This is where we work for that paycheck!
The 2nd deadspot is when your turning wire joins back up with Pike St wire, and it lines up with a particular window in the Ross building that’s either very near the doors are actually at the doors, if I recall correctly.
Look at that big crowd waiting to get on. You’re loving this. Only someone like yourself could take this crew up the street with the professionalism, patience and easy touch you have. I believe in you.
Questions you’ll get:

“Do you go the college?” Yes.
“Do you stop at Boren?” No. There's a 10 in a few minutes.
"Do you stop at Salvation Army?" No. That'll be the 10.
“Do you go straight?” Not really, this is your last stop on this street. There's a 10 coming (there really is; that has 15-minute service til midnight, daily).
“Can I just get a courtesy ride up the hill?” Sure, no problem. It’s like inbound Henderson; half of these guys are gonna be gone in ten minutes.
“Where’s the 11? Have you seen the 11?” The 11 famously has one of the worst schedules in the system, and ever since Metro turned it into a live-loop route, has become torture to drive and woefully unreliable for passengers. It has no bathroom at the Madison layover, and no break on the downtown end, and a schedule that’s never heard of the 2nd Avenue turnaround. Meanwhile, they could be laying this thing over at Virginia between 2nd and 3rd (Planners! Help!), because no other service outside of peak lays there. Basically, passengers are always wringing their hands waiting for it because it’s always late. Tell them: “Yeah, it’s coming. The 11 is always late, but it’s coming.” You can even mention the 11 has a tight schedule.

Do you drive the 11? I feel your pain. I try to let you go first so you can get the heck out of here instead of sitting around watching my rear end slow down for special work. Feeling the call of nature? Know that there’s a comfort station inside Westlake Station, by the old customer service stop, and if you pull far enough forward at the 4th/Pine zone (pull all the way up to 3rd), you can park and run down there. This makes more sense after hours when things have quieted down downtown. Yes, you’ll become late. But wasn’t that going to happen anyway?
Are you a passenger reading this? Now you know why those 11 drivers are so miserable. They want to stand. They want to urinate. Or even eat. You know, simple pleasures. Be extra nice to them. You might blow their minds.

5th

This isn’t your zone, but it’s time to signal left to stay on the straight wire. It’s counter-intuitive. The wire splitting off to the right (for the 10) is the default wire, even though it’s breaking off from the main line at an angle. To remain on the main line, which eventually turns left on 8th and is what you want, you have to signal left. You should hear a click, but no deadspot beep.
Special work crossing 7th; once you clear the landscaped rocks on the far right sidewalk, you’re good.

8th

You don’t need to split this, but you can if there’s a rideshare vehicle poorly parked on the left side (which seems more often the rule than otherwise), or a big charter bus parked on 8th, though in my experience the latter will pull just far enough forward to give you clearance.
Sectional insulator after you’ve completely finished the turn. It’s in between two of the bike lane protectors on the left.

Pine

You don’t need to split this. The curb is cut to give you a lot of trailing room. Remember not to signal left as you approach Pine, or you'll trip the left turn wire.
Splits in the wire always have a default lane of wire that you stay on if you don't signal; here, the default is to turn right. Perfect. You signal right, but only because that's the thing to do as a nice person who turns right, not because it's doing anything up above.

9th

Sectional insulator as you approach the zone– it’s just after the bushes and lines up with one of those black stumpy chair things. Forgive my lack of outdoor seating terminology.

Boren

You’ve felt these; 2 sectional insulators between 9th and Boren. As with all sectional insulators, you don’t need to slow down for them, but you do need to coast through them.
The first is as your front passes that mid-sized windowless grey standalone single-story concrete structure on the right;
The second is between the bike lane “sharrow” painted on the roadway and the beginning of the 2-lane markings painted on the roadway, nearer to Boren.
What do you do nearside Boren, where the lane randomly splits into two unmarked lanes even though there's only one farside? I'm existentially confused. What am I looking at? Is this supposed to be a straight lane and a left-turn lane, or a straight lane on the left with a huge bike lane on the right? I guess they want us to embrace life's enigmatic side. If there's a bike on the right, I split these to give them space. Or you can sit in lane 1; never mind that a car in lane 2 will pass you. You're a bus, and you were never going to outpace them anyway. Just keepin' the stress down and taking our time out here...

Bellevue

Someone will ask you for a Night Stop at nearside Melrose. Remember, Night Stops are legal, and described in the Book, even if they’re no longer taught in class. You can do this starting at 8pm and know that you’ll be scot-free from any discipline. Just make sure you're stopping in a safe location. Barely anyone knows about the Night Stop program though, so this request will be intermittent at best.
Crossing Bellevue– I take the whole thing at 9mph, due to the 3 pieces of special work, the last of which is a deadspot right as you meet the farside crosswalk. Yum. Don't you love that sensation of clearing a deadspot, and now you're good to go?

Summit

The stop is actually at Belmont, despite OBS calling it out as “Summit.” Adorable. In any event, this is one of the few zones I don’t pull as far forward as possible on, because the layout seems designed for killing people. Which I don’t want to do. People get off and want to cross in front, and if you’re too far forward, you have very little time to react if they cross as you begin to roll forward.
Also, cars may pass you on the left, accelerating to quickly get out of straddling the oncoming lane, and are thus primely positioned to run over pedestrians in the crosswalk (also something you don't like), because you’re blocking their view. So I stop a little bit back here.

Harvard

I call this out as “Broadway.” OBS thinks it’s Harvard, which technically yes, it’s farside Harvard, but no one cares about Harvard. They care about Broadway. Tell ‘em to have a good night.
Do not signal right as you enter the zone, or you’ll get on that straight wire. Use your 4-ways instead. (Where does that right lane of wire go? Just to satisfy your curiosity– it can turn you right onto SB Broadway (an extremely difficult turn requiring epic setup), or continue straight up Pine, like the old 10 used to, all the way to 15th and north on 15th to where the 10 runs now.)
Check your time. Do you have to wait? Is the 11 behind you and wishing to service this very popular zone? You could consider pulling forward, past the alley, so (s)he can fit in behind you. But then you’re also technically blocking an alley, so I don’t blame you if you have second thoughts about it.
Don’t pull too far forward– remember, you need to stay on the left-turn wire.

Broadway

I can't get enough of this turn. Go deep. Yeah. Take it out there. So deep it almost looks like you’re going to turn into that bike lane. Why?
Because the wire above wasn’t built by Metro but by a company in connection with the Seattle Streetcar, and it’s flimsier. It’s structurally weaker, and it is also harder to visually decode; Metro builds its wire so the deadspots are visible and easy to comprehend the location of (the big “suitcase handle” over the wire, as you know), but whoever built these streetcar wire intersections didn’t have the first idea about that. You can’t see the deadspots at all. You can't see anything. It's a zoo up there. Plus, the breakability– this is why supervisors are so touchy about your speed crossing the streetcar on Virginia and Stewart. It’s just too fragile.
Anyways. You’re taking this turn deep because you want to keep your poles roughly above the back end of your coach, since staying under the wire is the best way to stay on the wire.
You have no deadspots until the very end, where you get a cute little “beep” right as your front doors pass the sign on the store window that’s just past Jimi Hendrix and says “Blick Art Materials.”
The next light usually turns red before you can get to it. No worries.

John

When I was a teenage passenger, a driver announced this as, “This is John– or Olive, depending on how you roll...” which I’ve always remembered and found amusing, given the pansexual fluidity of the neighborhood. The robotic OBS lady calls the street John, and hopefully that makes her happy.
Note the 3 pieces of special work– another place to take the whole intersection at 9mph, majestically drifting across the intersection. Doesn't that feel great?
If you’re coming from driving diesels, it may seem strange to slow down so much, and in such unexpected places. But the crowd is used to it. Buses have been slowing down for special work in Seattle for over a half-century. Just keep it smooth for the people.
This is a camera light.

Nathan on Ubers and Lyfts

Let’s talk about this. Talking it out is good, right?
First we’ll admit the unvarnished truth: They "drive." They drive in a manner absurdly inconsistent with standard American driving behavior. They don’t follow rules. They follow Geoffrey Rush's dictum on rules from Pirates of the Caribbean 1: "They're more like... (wink wink) guidelines."
Taxi drivers get defensive driver training: they also drive like maniacs, but they know what they’re doing and know the city very well. The same can’t be said for U & L drivers. The training isn’t there, and it shows.
I don’t advocate for GPS driving, because, as you know from whenever you’ve ever been behind anyone who’s following their GPS, they don’t look far enough ahead. Increase your following distance so you have more time to react.
Now, for the macro-level existential analysis:
What do we really mean when we say “bad driving”? Do we have different ideas of what constitutes skilled maneuvering? Why do people think women can’t drive, when statistically they get into less accidents?
I was once riding a bus with an operator from Kenya driving. In Kenya he also drove buses. Now he was driving through traffic in Seattle. As I sat there being thrown around and hanging on for dear life, I was convinced this was the worst bus driving I’d ever experienced. Then it dawned on me: this is probably how you have to drive to get through traffic in Kenya. If Kenyan traffic is anything like the traffic I’ve experienced in Mexico City, Napoli, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, then I can attest that it is insane, and his methods wouldn’t just have been helpful, but essential. And old habits die hard. Most Uber and Lyft drivers hail from places where there’s a significant difference in driving style from what we’re used to. So there’s that. Plus, they’re driving around drunk frat boys in their personal vehicles, who might vomit on their own car seats at any moment. Also, they have a different incentive than us in that the faster they operate, the more rides (money) they can stand to make. We’re lucky; we don’t have to rush.
Speaking of which: Metro colleagues, please don’t drive these things like they’re Ubers. They aren’t. A 4500-series trolley costs $1 million per unit. It’s worth more than your house. Don’t risk lives and your livelihood racing down 3rd Avenue with it. If you kill someone it isn’t just that you’ll be terminated from employment; wherever you go, you’ll be doomed to think about it every single day for the rest of your life, and you don’t want that on your hands.
So we’ve covered the bigger picture of why Ubers and Lyfts think differently. What to do about it? They’re still blocking your zone here at northbound John (or Olive).
I recommend scanning the zone for wheelchairs. If there are no wheelchair-bound passengers, make an in-lane stop. “Guys, we’re gonna stay in the lane here, watch your step.” Passengers always, without fail, will take your side in the bus-Uber conversation. They get it.
As you’re approaching, preparing to stop in-lane, they may freak out a little thinking you’re passing; give them a wave to acknowledge their existence and they’ll put it together. Kneel the coach to show your goodwill. I don’t kneel at every zone, but doing so in this scenario just makes sense.
While stopping in-lane, make sure you are blocking the Uber from being able to leave the zone. Not out of spite– he has his job to do, and you have yours– it’s just business– not out of spite, but out of safety. You don’t want him peeling out while your doors are open. Angle in a little, or pull up enough that the next parked car prevents his moving.
I do the above because it means I don’t have to honk, get stressed, or lose time trying to get them to move. An operator once told me they honked at a blocking Lyft by laying the horn on for 4 full minutes; do not do that. That is legally classifiable as road rage, and you can lose your CDL over it. Also, it’s like jaywalking in uniform except worse– it just looks bad. Take some pride in your work. A light tap will get it done.
You may find yourself thinking you should honk to “educate” them, so there’s one less driver who stops in bus zones. Without telling you how to think, I can say that’s a pointless task to assign yourself. You’re never going to be able to educate enough car drivers about how to drive to make even the slightest difference in road conditions– except to stress yourself into oblivion. Just like you can't teach all the passengers, you may as well go with the flow. You want to have less ulcers as you age, not more. That’s the micro level. That’s us. The macro level is voting for someone who’s in a position of power to effect the change we don’t have the power to as individuals. The micro level is avoiding ulcers.

Mercer

Check your time.
Where does that left wire go, which you’re careful not to accidentally activate, perhaps by using your 4-ways as you leave the zone? It swings over to Aloha St, allowing you to turn around onto the southbound wire back down Broadway. It’s helpful to know the wire network in case of accidents or closures or reroutes; things you can do while staying on the wire.

Galer

Maybe you’re doing the “lovely ladies” trip. You got them all at Pike, and now they’re getting off for the women’s night shelter across the street at St. Mark’s. More on the lovely ladies here.
On a Breda, this was an experience, requiring cycling the lift 6 or 7 times and usually putting you a full 15 minutes down. I would encourage the rest of the crowd to get on through the back and “pay me tomorrow,” so we didn’t spend all night at 4th and Pike. I mean, I like it there, but...
Yes, I also feel like I need dental work done after going through this section– the “paving” from Galer to Howe. Can you believe this is what the entirety of 10th Ave East and 15th Ave NE in the U District used to be like? At night I’ll try to situate myself somewhere where it’s infinitesimally less bumpy, and while that works on other stretches of 10th, this short stretch is Seattle’s equivalent of the winds of Gibraltar.

Miller

Remember the Book: never go down a hill faster than you would safely go up it. I look at that nice park beyond Roanoke and wonder, who will be the first bus to lose control on the bridge, perhaps due to ice, and go flying straight into that bucolic landscape? Who will be the first to make history, careening over bushes and mauling trees and dogs? Will it be me?
Hot trivia: if you’re ever in a jam and for some reason need to use the wire on the opposite side of the street, it will work. Put one pole on each lane of wire just as you would normally. Ah, magic.

Roanoke

Turning left off of 10th– you can do this entire turn in lane 1, but go slowly. Whipping it around will drop your poles (not to mention some of your passengers!).
Turning right on Harvard– I split Roanoke to do this. When traffic is heavy I’ll stay in lane 1 but use my 4-ways for the turn– those cars in lane 2 will not be expecting you to go deep before turning right. Splitting is much safer.

Eastlake

As Nathan the lane-splitting bus driver, by now it's no surprise to read: I split the turn from Harvard to Eastlake, sitting in lane 1 more than lane 2.
Of course, there’s no right on red here.
Slow down for the special work and deadspot that happens as your front crosses the midway point of the driveway on the right, after the turn.
Crossing the bridge: in a diesel I split (like a broken record, sorry) and cruise over it, because there’s no slow order in a diesel.
But you’re a trolley. Don’t go over 9mph– including the moments just before and just after the bridge.
The wire is slack at these two locations, because the bridge is a historical object and it's hard for Metro to get permission from the city and others to build further support structures. When I drove the 70 in 2008 I was told they're "working on it." No hard feelings; we get by meanwhile. It's at these two points, before and after the bridge, that you have the greatest chance of losing poles.
Keep it at 9mph through the whole thing, noting the sectional insulators as your front bumper approaches the grating, and after the bridge, around the moment your front clears the horizontal metal-tipped gap separating the bridge from the regular roadway. You don't want to lose your poles here and have to go reset your poles on a bridge with no right-side clearance you can walk down– not to mention a bridge that's made out of metal.
There it is: a sectional insulator as you approach Campus Parkway, about two coach-lengths before the turn.
You know you're supposed to turn onto Campus Parkway. There are two off-ramps in short succession. Which one is it? Follow the wire.

Campus Parkway

During the turn– be mindful of how that left lane can receive traffic quickly from southbound Roosevelt; the curvature is awkward, but it always works out. A car may be parked in lane 1, forcing you to split into lane 2, and it's good to already have an idea of what's going on or about to happen in lane 2 because you scanned it and southbound Roosevelt's turn lane while making the turn onto Campus Parkway.
After 10th between Galer and Howe, this is the bumpiest road this side of postwar Europe. We might thus run it a little slower, knowing we can't stop as quickly.
The light at 12th has a counter on the pedestrian crossing on the other side of the street, which depending on foliage may be visible; however, the light will hold green for a short bit before turning red.
The lane 1 cars blocking are often just quickie dropoffs that will evaporate by the time 12th turns green again, given how massively long this light is.
Speaking of which– all the lights on Campus Parkway are downright interminable. No wonder people jaywalk like crazy here. As you're sitting nearside Brooklyn, pondering your college days and so glad that you don't have to study for exams anymore– is that a 65 or 372 coming up alongside? Or a 75 coming north on Brooklyn preparing to turn right? All of those routes want the zone in front of you, nearside University Way. You want the nearest zone on the block, farside Brooklyn, and maybe you'll let that 65 on your left go first so she can get in her zone.
Is there a 70 or another 49 behind you? If there are no 65's (etc) about, please consider pulling forward enough so they can fit behind you in zone 2. This means pulling forward such that you're bleeding into the back of zone 1, allowing room for a 60-footer (maybe that's me back there!) to fit. It's just so nice to do!
As you leave zone 2, try using your 4-ways rather than your regular left-turn signal, as there's a switch just after zone 2 that sets you up to do a U-turn.
Incidentally, there's another U-turn on the inbound side, allowing you to drive in a full circle while remaining on the wire if you wish. Have I done this in the late hours when I had no passengers (or only sleepers) out of sheer giddy excitement? Out of the civic duty of keeping the switches alive by occasionally using them, and pleasure of seeing unused wire sparking up a show in my rear mirrors? Don't ask me. These are questions where we drivers nod silently at each other in understanding, confirming nothing, denying everything. Only the birds and trees know.
Remain in lane 1. If you choose to use lane 2 (to pass a parked 75, say), be aware that the bumpy road plus the positioning of the wire between Brooklyn and 15th may result in you losing poles. Hug the right edge of lane 2 if you have to use it.

15th

It's easy to lose poles turning left here, but it's also easy to avoid doing so. Go from lane 1 to lane 1 and go deep, and remember to not accelerate until your poles have gotten onto the straight northbound wire– that is, after your entire coach has completed the turn.
You can see that there's a lane of wire from northbound 15th to westbound Campus. Are you going to accidentally get on it, since your left turn signal is on as you turn left onto 15th? No, as that turning wire is only accessible from an activation switch earlier on northbound 15th. You can't trip that wire from the wire you're on.

42nd

Pull far enough forward that a 2nd coach can fit behind you and clear the crosswalk. This means going well past the zone flag, by at least fifteen feet.
I don't do this here, because this isn't steep enough for it (nor is anywhere else on the 7/49), but we may as well talk about hills, in case you have to drive up the Counterbalance or James. How do you stop on a steep uphill? What if you're going slowly and have a full load? Using the service brake would be a jerky and dangerous experience, potentially throwing passengers around. Instead, I recommend applying the power pedal as you slow down, gradually less and less power but still going forward, until the moment the bus it as a complete the bus is at a complete standstill. The microsecond the bus is completely still– boom, pop in the hill holder. This takes practice. I observe the coach's movement by looking at the pavement vs. the windshield edge. Once both are still– there we go. Hill holder to the rescue, and you've made an impossibly smooth stop. Again, this isn't necessary anywhere on this route, but it's very helpful elsewhere in the network.
Pulling out of the zone you get in lane 2, slowing down for the work (which lines up with that tree on the left), remembering not to signal right for the 70 wire. You're the default.

45th

I wait a little further back, maybe six feet shy of the stop bar. You know why; to be nice to all those inbound 44s and 49s coming around the corner, who will appreciate the extra space. You wouldn't think they'd be there in the brief minute you're waiting for the green, but, incredibly, they always are. The 44 is 10-minute service during the day, while the 49 is every 12; that's 11 trips an hour, plus 542s and deadheads. Someone is always making that turn and needing that space.
Maybe your first trip is during peak, and it's busy. Look at what traffic's doing after the turn on farside 45th. Do you have room? You may not have room. Hold, and let the light cycle out. Maybe everything will be hunky dory in 90 seconds. Is everything exactly the same all over again, after you've given up one full light cycle? If the cars from the previous cycle are completely gone, I would go for it, because that sounds like traffic's moving, even if you have to embarrassingly block for a little bit. If traffic isn't moving, I'd hold for a bit more to see what's going on... but you probably don't have this issue, because it's 9 o'clock in the evening and the living is easy.

12th

Slow down for the special work crossing this intersection, which lines with, I believe, the second tree in the sidewalk landscaping on the right.

11th

With 3 lanes to use on northbound 11th, you don't need to split this turn, but you can. Either way, stay hard to the right as you finish the turn; the wire is further to the right than you think.

47th

Use the side wire. There are a few trips throughout the day that will need the straight wire to go around you; it's unusual, but not a bad idea to stay on the siding just in case.

Phenomenal. You did it. you just drove the 7 all the way from Rainier Beach to the U District in one piece. You can do anything in life. See you on the trip back.

Part I (7 southbound) here.
Part II (7 northbound) here.

Stand by for Part IV!

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How to Drive the 7, Pt II of IV: 7N, Henderson to Pike

5/17/2020

1 Comment

Okay, let’s get out of here. You got down here okay. Now let’s go back up. (this is the second in a series of posts detailing driving maneuvers on the 7/49. Click here for Part I: the southbound 7 and explanation of terms and assumptions).

Henderson

You leave the terminal slowly, getting back on the wire smoothly– your side wire rejoins the main line as the front of your coach passes the cute green garbage can to the right– just past “the Circle,” where all the guys and gals hang out in summer. Give them a wave if you like.
Preparing for the turn onto southbound Seward Park Ave– dip to the right and swing toward the left of your lane, hugging the double yellow on Henderson. As with all right turns, go forward until the middle of your front doors is parallel to the curb of the street you’re turning onto.

Rainier & Seward Park Ave

Do not accelerate until the back of your bus (where the poles are!) has completed the turn– otherwise, you’ll lose your poles.

52nd

After this zone, either go slowly or split the lanes to remain on the wire. There’s also a sectional insulator that lines up with a pedestrian crossing sign on the right.

Henderson NB

Let’s do this. Half of these guys are only going to Rose anyway, or maybe Othello. Creep up to the light. This red takes forever and a day; let stragglers on, or you’re in for an awkward 90 seconds.
Do not signal right as you cross this intersection, because that will trip the right-turn wire.
Keep it at 9mph through the intersection from the moment the back of your coach clears the nearside crosswalk until the front of your coach clears the yellow fire hydrant on the right, by the driveway.
Personally I like to split up until Cloverdale, because the right edge of lane 1 is bumpy and you’re a night operator. There’s no one out here and you have the luxury of such options.

Rose

Everyone forgets there’s special work here. Try not to.

Holden

If you read the previous post about driving southbound, you know I love splitting lanes. We’re about to get crazy with splitting here. Why are we splitting? A couple of reasons:

I don’t like those parked car doors on the right. And–
On this stretch of Rainier, the road often tilts to the right, causing the top of your coach to be at an angle farther away from the wire; the bus thinks something’s going wrong, even though nothing is, and will drop your poles in a fit of excessive caution. And by “this stretch” I mean from where we are now all the way to Graham. We’re about to get serious. Because…

Othello

Did you just lose your poles at Fontanelle, approaching the light at Othello? These new buses are awful sensitive. They pop off the wire like breeze-blown laundry. But there’s a way around it. Try the below, safely:

Staying on the wire on Rainier

Get directly beneath the wire, even if it involves splitting lanes.
Throw on your 4-ways to alert cars you’re being weird.
Floor it.

You’re invincible. Just stay directly beneath the wire.

Where do you really need to do this, or slow down, or at least be mindful that you might pop off? At these locations southbound:

Forest (hot weather only)
After Walden, approaching the Letitia S-curves (hot weather only)
Alaska (usually not necessary, but maybe)
After Graham
After Holly

And at these locations northbound:

After 52nd
Approaching Othello
After Othello, approaching Frontenac
After Edmunds
After Alaska
Before Oregon (hot weather only)
After Genesee
Before Grand (hot weather only)

The wire placement was designed for an earlier iteration of lane striping on Rainier; in most of these spots, if you simply drive as if the old lane striping (still dimly visible) was the norm, you won’t lose your poles.

Frontenac

There’s a sectional insulator well before the zone, across the street from the Shell gas station.

Graham

There’s a deadspot at the wooden telephone pole. You need to pull all the way to the head of the zone to clear it. I’ll wait until there are no cars blocking. Another incentive to pull all the way forward– and I do mean all the way forward, until you’re clipping the stop bar– is because otherwise the back door opens into bushes.
Crossing Graham, there’s special work as your rear right tire drops into that big dip farside, which you’ll notice significantly rocks the coach; you can choose to avoid it, or use it as a convenient added excuse to slow down for the switch.
Merge left. For some reason cars are usually pretty generous about yielding for you here.

Kenny

It’s almost comical how poorly lit this zone is. Double check for intending passengers.

Orcas

As with the southbound direction, this is a camera light. As ever, try to stop for yellow lights unless it is unsafe to do so. If you must, know that your front bumper must clear the nearside stop bar before the light turns red, or you’ll get dinged. But try not to be that guy…

Brandon St S-Curves

Yes, there’s a lot of support wire, but you still want to be at or under 20mph through this. You may hear a “mythical deadspot”– a little beep where there is no deadspot. That’s the pole almost coming off. Wow! Not worth the risk!

39th

The light may turn without warning; look for pedestrians who’ve hit the crossing signal.
The brick roadway beginning at Hudson has become really bumpy.

Edmunds

If I’m early, I’ll wait here instead of the Genesee timepoint, because you’re more helpful this way. This is a popular zone.
Upon pulling out, consider either splitting or going slowly to avoid losing poles during that great big dip in the roadway’s right edge. If you remain in lane 1, you won’t hit the white street sign.

Alaska

The curve following this zone, if taken too quickly, will result in dropped poles. Keep it under 20mph, or else split the lanes.

Genesee

Check your time.
On pulling out, you may need to split the lanes to stay on the wire, although I haven’t had to do this in a while.
I’ll sometimes split all the way up to Andover from here, as the dip in the road at Dakota can invite pole-droppage.

Andover

This zone doesn’t reeeeaally hold two coaches. It looks like it should, but your back wheel will be on the crosswalk. May as well give it a second for your leader to get out of the way. Speaking of which:

Skip-stopping recap: northbound version

We went over this on the southbound trip, but let’s recap because they’re not teaching this and it’s important.
Let’s say you’re a “7 to S Jackson” (meaning, you’re going only as far as 5th and Jackson before then going to Base). Somebody is at the zone, but your follower, a 7 to Downtown, is behind you. If you don’t have dropoffs and your follower is visible to the intending passenger, I say skip the zone, and your follower will pick them up. This speeds up both buses.
Let’s say that you’re instead a 7 to Downtown, and there’s a 7 to S Jackson behind you. You’ll have peeked in your mirror to see his signage, which is how you know he’s just a Chinatown bus. There’s an intending passenger at the zone, and you have no dropoffs. You need to pick them up. Why? Because he might want Downtown, and the bus behind you doesn’t go there. In order to skip people, the bus behind needs to go everywhere you’re going, and ideally, it should be visible to the intending passenger. I’ll signal with my hand, gesturing behind me with my thumb, as in, “Look behind me! Your savior awaits! I don’t actually hate you!” They may not understand now, but they will in a second.
Are you a 7 to S Jackson only, with a 106 behind you? You can skip. The northbound 106 routing is identical to you.

Letitia St S-Curves

Run these at 20mph or under. The slow order is 25mph, but that’s redundant now that all of Rainier is 25mph anyway.
There’s deadspot just after the bus stop bench. Pull all the way to the zone flag, and you’ll clear it.
Watch the blind driveway in the middle of the curve after the zone.

Walden

Let’s slow down a touch to see if there’s anyone hidden by those trees. Don’t worry about missing the light; it's a short one.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Way

You probably know that I call out most or all of my stops. I’m not saying you have to, but you might do so for this one. OBS calls this stop “Mount Baker Blvd,” which is technically true, but misleading: “Mount Baker” in neighborhood parlance refers to the transit center and rail station after this zone. For all intents and purposes, this zone is called MLK.
Try not to kill people. Careful here in the dark, as jaywalkers have died here (read a story of mine about one such fellow here).
As with the opposite side, the folks waiting here may not appear enticing on first suspicion. But they almost always have destinations.
Are you late? No need to rush, but using the far right lane here will give you a bus green light and skip you out ahead of the rest of the cars.

Mt Baker

Check your time. Is that a supervisor van off to your right?
Yes, people can transfer to rail here, but it’s useful to know that if they’re trying to get downtown, the act of them deboarding, crossing the street, walking to the train station staircase, going up the stairs to the train platform, probably missing a train while doing all of that, waiting for the next one, and then riding into town… at night, your 7 is faster. Just in case they ask.
Note the special work above, crossing Forest, just past Forest, approaching McClellan, and while crossing McClellan. Slow to 9mph for each of these, or just drift at 9mph through the whole thing until your front end clears the farside crosswalk. Yours truly has gotten dinged here for going over 9mph.
At night sometimes I split between McClellan and Bayview. Why do I do this? I don’t know. Lane 1 just feels narrow to me. You won’t lose poles here.

Bayview

This is another zone that looks like it can hold 2 coaches but only has room for 1.
If traffic is amenable, I also split from here to Walker, and I know why: the right edge of lane 1 is bumpier than the Pacific Crest Trail.

Walker

You’re approaching. Is a 4 creeping out on Walker, trying to turn onto NB Rainier? Consider blocking for him, or holding for him so he can do that turn. It isn’t an easy one.
Slow down for the crossing with the 4 wire; also, there’s a sectional insulator before the special work that lines up with one of those short pillars of the building to the right.
The light crossing 23rd is a long light. Sadly there’s no counter, but you’ll probably make this. Don’t forget to slow down for that crossing wire in the middle of the intersection, as well as again at Plum, where the special work lines up with the zone.

Grand

Maybe you’re behind me and you see me splitting as I approach Grand. Why is he doing that? Because I lost poles here once, and although it’s never happened again, it’s like my body never forgets!

Charles

This is a short light. Somebody wanted the 554 to Issaquah; they can jump off here and grab it across the street.
Why are college-looking twenty-somethings getting on here who obviously don’t live on this line? They’re coming from the climbing place across the street, heading back to their homes on the Hill.

Dearborn

Don’t block the intersection on the wishful thinking that this zone might actually, in some other universe, be able to hold two coaches. It can’t.

Jackson

This light is a great place to sit around relaxing, because it’s at least a minute long. Pack a lunch. Throw on your hill holder to take the pressure off your right knee (as I do at all stops). Take your time finishing the left turn onto Jackson; too much speed and the poles want to come off here, because of the angle at which the turning wire trails into the straight Jackson wire.

Boren

Who’s this big crowd of hulking men? Not to fear. It’s the NightWatch contingent. NightWatch is a placement program that assigns people shelter spots throughout the city. It’s complicated in a way that requires those use it to be a lil’ more mentally put together; they have to have acquired a ticket earlier in the day from DESC, allowing them entry to NightWatch for a meal starting at 21h00, after which they get a ticket to a shelter, usually in the U District (called Seattle Friends, at 40th and 9th, which they have to get to before 24h00). I used to drive these guys every night, and they were among my favorite passengers.
There’s a sectional insulator that will kill you as you leave the zone. It lines up with a difference in pavement featuring a driveway (it’ll make sense when you’re there) on the right, right around the edge of the new pho restaurant.

12th

Take it at 9mph through the whole intersection, checking to see if there’s space for you at the zone. Pull all the way forward, as with any zone, to make room for a 2nd coach behind you.
Watch the driveway as you leave the zone, and of course, check your mirrors all the time.
Your signage has changed– you are now the 49. Glorious.

Maynard

Are you going home? Getting on that left turn wire without losing poles and making the light probably isn’t going to happen. I think we’ve all experienced this. Lose the light, make the wire.

5th

Use the side wire. Who knows what might happen here.
Check your time.
Problems on your bus? The CBD is a good place to call for help at night. Help will arrive sooner.
Getting on the right-turn wire to 4th. Okay. This is the only place I use the override switch as well as the right turn signal (I usually only use turn signals for switches). I position myself a foot away from the curb and creep, waiting to hear that satisfying metallic click, checking my left mirror to see if I got it. (I don’t set my blind spot mirror vertically; that’s for amateurs. You can see enough with the horizontal orientation.)
Did I not get it? I creep forward until I’m far enough forward to be able to switch the poles from the straight wire to the right wire. Wear your vest; eyes are watching. Afterwards, enjoy the act of legally turning into lane 3.

Washington

There’s a sectional insulator here, a bit before the light.

Prefontaine

I’ll go for the side wire here, in case a 36 or someone wants to barrel around me.
Keep the wire over the right edge of your coach while crossing Yesler. Keep it around 10mph in lane 2 as you approach James, and mind that sectional insulator just past the crosswalk at Jefferson.

James

If it’s late night, the signal timing is for southbound traffic, and you’re going to get a red at every single intersection all the way up 3rd. We’ll roll our eyes at it together and find something to enjoy about the experience, such as the fact that we’re definitely not going to run early now…
Crossing James– 2 big deadspots, before and after the elevator on the right. Cherry and Columbia are your only northbound intersections without special work.

Skip-Stopping on Third

Let’s go over where your coach should be positioned between here and Pike. As we know, the rule of thumb for Third Ave operations is:

Is there a bus zone that isn’t yours? Get in the left lane so you don't block other coaches from using it;
Don’t pass buses that use the same stops as you (unless they have their 4-ways on);
The bus in lane 1 (the right lane!) has the right of way.

In practice, what that looks like for you, a 7/49 going north, we can explore in this handy lil’ cheat sheet:

Leaving Prefontaine, get into lane 2 before Jefferson, and sit in lane 2 up until the light at James.
Crossing James, you have a block to merge right. Be in lane 1 by the time you reach nearside Cherry. Service the zone at Columbia.
Upon crossing Columbia, get in lane 2 and stay in it through nearside Madison.
As you cross Marion, the 2 big deadspots are just past the farside crosswalk. Keep it at 9mph. Sweet– you made it!
After crossing Madison, you have 1 block to get into lane 1 before reaching nearside Spring. Service the zone at Seneca.
Just after Seneca, jump into lane 2, so you’re in lane 2 before reaching nearside University.
Roll past Union in lane 2.
Immediately as you cross Union, hit your right turn signal to get on the side wire for the Pike St zone. The back of your coach needs to be closer to lane 1 to get on the side wire. This means merging immediately into lane 1, the second you’re finishing up crossing Union. Take your time with this special work; you want to hear 2 deadspots. One deadspot means you didn’t get onto the side wire, which is also the right-turn wire. You’ll need to turn right at Pike to start your 49.
I think it’s always a good idea to get on the side wire here, even if you’re not a 49 and are going up to Virginia. Because coaches behind you might want to go around, and you might take longer than you think with deboarding passengers.
Now it’s time to turn right on Pike. The side wire defaults to returning you to northbound 3rd, which you don’t want. You’ll need to activate your right-turn signal again to turn right onto Pike. Look for illegally parked cars on the far left side of Pike, where the bike lane is; if someone’s there, swing wide while still nearside of Pike so you can split and have more room for your turn.
This is one of my favorite turns. You’re transitioning worlds here, going from 7-land to 49-land, representing the shift from South Seattle to North Seattle in a single gesture. Pretty awesome.

See you in the next post, where we’ll take it to the U District!

1 Comment

How to Drive the 7, Pt I of IV: 7S, Jackson to Henderson

5/16/2020

3 Comments

This one's about the physical act of driving the thing. It's time for tech talk!
Two recent posts dealt with psychological and existential problems of doing this route.
Another post offers tips on fights and other security issues.

Introduction
I first drove it in 2009, and have stuck regularly to it since, including several stints of consecutive years driving it nightly. I've gone down those streets more times than most operators will in their lifetimes, and with the regular blog coming to a close I wish to pass on a thing or two I may have picked up on the way– because it's good to help each other. And because the night 7/49 is the lowest-seniority route. If you're on it, it's because you're nuts like me and you like it, or because you're new. If the latter– welcome. It's going to be fine.

Assumptions

You've got a 4500-series 60-foot trolley.
You're doing the full 7/49.
We're going to do one full loop, starting with a road relief eastbound on 5th and Jackson. This post goes from 5/J south to Henderson.
We're not going to do the Virginia street turnaround because that's rare at night, and you may already know it from the 36 and 70.
We're going to ignore passenger stuff completely– refer to, well, the whole the rest of this blog. Here's a good starting place.
And– these are my suggestions, not the official rules. I'm only one person, but these tips have worked for, if no one else, at least me.

On Jackson Street at 5th

Here's your coach pulling up. Have your bag ready to put behind the driver's seat. Ask the driver you’re relieving how they are, thank them for the bus, and ask if there are any reroutes or issues with the coach.
Enter the coach, put your bag away, set your mirrors, and start driving. Everything else can be done later. All you need right now are your mirrors.
Make sure you're not early– 5th is a timepoint that is often checked– and wait for that green light. Are you early? Great. Red lights are the perfect place to work on setting your seat, working on the interior mirrors and logging in. But otherwise, you’ll get to all that later. Wave in the passengers with ORCA cards– it’ll take too long to figure all that out right now.

Crossing 5th

Don't rush this. If the hand is counting down already, consider waiting out the cycle. I assume your coach is on the side wire because it's always nice to use the side wire (allows other buses to pass), especially when a relief is taking place. If you're on the side wire, you should hear 4 deadspots as you cross the intersection (if not, you'll hear 3).
I measure the location of deadspots by where the front of the coach directly beneath me (the middle of the front doors) is during the moment of the beep.
Green light. Accelerate to 9mph before reaching the middle of the intersection.
Do not activate your right turn signal as you cross the intersection, as this will set your poles to turn right. Merging? Use your 4-ways.
Deadspot 1 (as your poles return to straight wire): your front has just passed the middle of 5th Avenue.
Deadspot 2: as you hit the farside crosswalk. You will need enough momentum to clear both these deadspots at once; there isn't enough space between then to accelerate. Remember, you only need 9mph to do this. 4500s coast quite well.
Accelerate for 6 feet or so.
Deadspot 3: (this used to be by the Western Union sign in the window. Stand by for update; I’ve been doing it by rhythm lately!)
Accelerate for 6 feet or so.
Deadspot 4: as your front doors pass the neon sign of the pho place.
You made it. First day? You probably powered through all the above and jerked the bus around. That’s okay for now. But each time you go through, try to memorize these locations a little more so you don't power through deadspots (it's bad for the electricity), and to give a smoother ride. Remove your foot from the accelerator before the deadspot; if you're new, the back of the coach where the poles are is slightly further back than you think.

Maynard

Cruise up to Maynard and get the people. No need to rush these lights; the cycles are quick. Watch those cars parallel parked on the right– many are momentary deliveries to the grocery store there.

8th

Do not put on your right turn signal as you cross 8th; doing so will activate the right turn wire. Take the intersection at 9mph, removing your foot from the accelerator at the crosswalk on the far side of 8th– that's where the deadspot is for your 60-foot coach. (In a 4300 today? It's just after the halfway point of the intersection). Ask me in person why I suggest 9mph for all deadspots.

Pulling out of 8th

You will need control of the left lane, due to parked cars on the right. I often merge into it entirely; if you do, be mindful that enterprising car drivers may try to squeeze past you on the right. Consider splitting the lanes to minimize this.

10th

Slow down to 9mph for the special work. Don't use your left turn signal, or you'll activate the switch above. Do you need to merge left here, or otherwise use your turn signal for traffic maneuvers at any time when they conflict with what you want to do with the wire?

Merging during switches

I recommend using your 4-ways in that scenario. 4-ways do not affect the wire, and let cars behind you know you're about to do something weird. They don't know what, but something.
You can also do Straight Override, but keep your hand on the switch so you remember to switch it back to "N" right after.
Eventually you'll know where all the switches are, and will likely take the easier path of doing your merging maneuvers before or after them.

12th

Approaching– return to the right lane. Is there a coach in the zone already? Wait. This zone only holds one coach.
Green light. Expect 3 deadspots. Do not use your right turn signal, or you'll trip the 36 wire.
Deadspot 1: As your rear wheel crosses the nearside crosswalk. You need to hear this. If you don't, you're on the 36 wire and need to stop immediately.
Deadspot 2: As you're crossing the farside crosswalk.
Deadspot 3: front of your coach lines up with "Bac Sam" on the grocery store sign on the right!
Check your time.

Leaving 12th

You've got your crowd, and are ready to take them to the Valley. Great. Watch the crosswalk for the streetcar island. Notice the wire splitting above, about a block and a half past the 12th Ave zone. There's a wooden telephone pole on the right.
You need to be hitting your right turn signal before you reach it– you want to trigger the right turn wire. You will hear a click of metal.
I drive with my front roof hatch open (use the "rear" switch by the signage to activate), so I can hear the wire better. First night(s) on the route? Consider driving with Climate Control off, so you can hear the wire and learn where the switches are and what to listen for.
You've passed that wooden telephone pole and heard the click. Fabulous. Slow down to 9mph. Listen to that satisfying soft ker-klunk as you get onto the right wire, about 10 feet after hearing the click above. You really are the 7 now.
If you hear a deadspot beep, you missed the switch. It's okay. I know, you don’t want to have to go out there and do this with all these people sitting here. But you have to. Just do it. Stop, safely get out, and move your poles.

Resetting your poles from one lane of wire to another

Pull the parking brake.
Be sure you pulled the parking brake.
Step out the doors with your vest in hand. Be mindful of cars. Put on your vest as you walk or jog to the back of the bus. You walk quickly to the back, to show the passengers you care about being expeditious, but once you're back there behind the bus and with the ropes– take your time. Rushing it will take longer.
Grab the rope of the pole closest to the lane of wire you're moving to, but don't pull the pole off the wire yet. While still holding the rope, walk over to where you're directly beneath the pole, then pull the pole off the wire. This will prevent the pole from swinging around wildly.
Still holding your pole, and being mindful of cars, walk the pole over to where you are directly beneath the wire you want to let it gently rise to the wire. Do it slowly. Use both hands.
Is the shoe at an angle where it doesn’t want to slip back onto the wire? Raise the shoe up to the side of the wire and use the wire to knock the shoe back into something approaching straighter alignment. Then try again. Take a deep breath while you’re doing this, and remember to be mindful of cars.

Resetting your poles after losing your poles

I try to be aware of where the poles are at all times, and the minute I’m not sure, I check visually, either by the mirror or by actually stepping out. You want to be sure. This way, you only ever have to move poles from one lane of wire to another, rather than having them fly off and go everywhere. But let’s just say that’s just happened anyway, because sometimes it does. The poles have just flown off and are swinging around, settling on top of the coach.
Pull the parking brake.
Be sure you pulled the parking brake.
Jog out there while being careful of cars and putting on your vest.
Rack each pole. Hot tip: first rack the pole you’re going to reset first. This saves you a second because it takes a second for the air pressure to build back up.
Is it raining? Don’t stand directly beneath the pole, but just to its side, as you pull the pole down to tap the coach as you and get it out of the hook. This way all the raindrops on the pole don’t fall on your face!
Continue as in the above section.

Preparing to turn right on Rainier

So you’ve just gotten on that lane of right-turn wire, and you know it because you didn’t hear a deadspot. You’re getting good at this. As you drift toward the light, there’s a tiny deadspot about a coach-length after the switch you just negotiated. These tiny deadspots are called sectional insulators, and although you should not power through them, you do not have to slow down for them.
Wait for the green. Yes, you’re no longer in the CBD so you’re allowed to make a right on red, but look at that blind curve on Boren to your left. You’re a bus. Do you really think you can turn fast enough here before a car comes flying around that bend? Wait for the green.
Is the light already green? This is a long green. Chances are you’ll make it. Rock and roll hard; a slight right turn like this one has more potential for blindspots with regard to crosswalks. Watch those oncoming left-turn vehicles from westbound Jackson.
Doesn’t it feel great to make this right and land on Rainier, with that beautiful view of the mountain, knowing you’re really doing this, grabbing the bull by the horns and thriving? Maybe not yet. But one day it’ll feel like that.

King

That’s Labor Systems on the right. No one cares about this at night because it’s closed, but a morning run will have passengers asking for it; it’s a day labor place for enterprising jobless people. Watch for cars passing on your left to turn right in front of you; this is an awkward location for a zone.

Runners

There’s a runner, coming up from Dearborn way down there. Are you on time? Consider waiting for them. They’re coming from Goodwill, which is nearly a mile away of walking, and for decades the stop for them was right at Dearborn; now they have to hike all the way up to King, and you’re breaking their heart. Are you late? If your follower will be here in less than 5-10 minutes, I would consider leaving them. Your follower will get them, and if you wait for everyone you’re defeating the purpose of frequent service. The southbound 7 has approximately 10 minute service until 19h00 and 15-minute service until 23h30, daily. After 23h30? Don’t be mean. Wait. They may not look like they need the bus, but there’s one chance in 10 that they do, and it’s worth it just for that one chance. You never know, and 30-60 minutes is a long time to wait for the next bus.

King to Dearborn

Merge left soon after leaving the zone. There’s a small deadspot (sectional insulator) right around where you cross King. You need to be in the left lane until after crossing Dearborn. Notice how the wire is drifting to the left– stay roughly under it.
(You can be 12 feet on either side of a lane of wire. 12 feet is the width of one regular lane of traffic.)

Driving When Late

I don’t advocate for driving faster when you’re late. Try to drive at the same speed even if you’re late. A colleague told me, “if you become late– slow down.” Why? Because when you’re rushing, you’ll have an accident, or you’ll get moody with the people. Being in a hurry magically makes you angry at everything.

King to Dearborn (continued)

However, I do advocate for different decisions regarding expediency depending on how you’re doing on schedule. Are you early or on time? Use lane 2 as you approach Dearborn and wait for the regular traffic light. Are you late? Without hurrying, use lane 3 and take advantage of the special bus lane light. Horizontal white light means stop; Vertical white light means go; the flashing white triangle in the middle is the equivalent of a yellow light.
Try to avoid rushing up to this lane 3 bus lane light, in an effort to keep it smooth for your passengers. You want to trigger it before those northbound cars finish turning left, I know. But it’s better to be smooth and safe. It’s not that big of a time savings, and your priority is safety. You want to keep your job.
As you cross Dearborn, carefully begin merging right immediately after you’ve crossed the intersection. This is complicated: be mindful of the stopped northbound cars just to your left, especially if you’re coming in from lane 3. Also be mindful that cars will be turning onto southbound Rainier from eastbound Dearborn, and your right mirror may not see them very well. Glance over there as you cross Dearborn. The wire eventually wants you to be in lane 1 or 2. You probably have passengers at Charles; go for lane 1, unless there’s weird traffic.

Charles

People will ask you where to catch the 554 to Issaquah. This is it. After servicing the zone, merge into lane 2, which becomes lane 1 as you go underneath I-90. The next zone is after the intersection that’s beneath the bridge. The next several zones are straightforward: no special work, no need to merge. Slow down to 9mph for the special work near Plum St.

Bayview

Check your time. Remember, your timepoints, with the exception of the first timepoint on any trip, are arrival timepoints. You want to arrive at Mt. Baker down there at the appointed time. Watch the special work as you approach McClellan; it lines up (always front of the coach, unless otherwise indicated) with the tree right after the QFC driveway.

Mt. Baker

Special work– slow down to 9mph as you cross the utility pole that lines up with the back of your coach hitting that trailing wire. You’ll know which one after a trip or two. I like knowing exactly where the special work is, so I don’t need to slow down for great big stretches of roadway. I only want to be going 9mph for the brief moment that is the special work. Do it smoothly; don’t be rough on your people. These new Excelsior models are extraordinarily sensitive to your braking. Don’t make somebody’s grandmother throw up back there.
I tend to pull just past the zone flag at every zone, so I can know if they actually want my bus. Maybe they want the 106; this will tell you. Are you early? Maybe you are, because you tried to wait at Bayview but somebody yelled that they were trying to make a connection to rail here, so you chose to come down here and wait instead of back at Bayview to be nice. As long as you weren’t more than a minute early and you wait it out, the supervisor across the street probably won’t give you any guff.
Is there a 106 behind you? Is it nighttime with no traffic? If both are true, leave the zone by pulling dramatically into a position splitting lanes 2 and 3 (mostly in 2, bleeding a little into lane 3) so the 106 behind you can safely cruise by you in lane 1 to make his right turn. His light turns greens before yours does, and (s)he will appreciate it.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Way

Somebody got on at Mount Baker and literally already wants to get off. Why? This intersection is famously hard to cross. People have died here, including my friend Milard earlier last year. It’s either spend almost 10 minutes walking down, up and onto that pedestrian bridge, or hop on a quick 7.
This is a camera light. Your bus needs to cross the stop bar before the crosswalk while the light is still yellow, or else the camera will flash. Ideally, you’re better than that and you just stopped, because you’re a professional and you stop at all yellow lights unless it is unsafe to do so. But I thought you should know just in case.
Also: I know, the people at the zone don’t exactly look inviting. But these guys always have destinations– often Letitia (for Safeway) or Graham (for 7-11 or the smoke shop). If they’re sitting in the shelter over there, they don’t need you. If they’re standing by the flag, they do.

Walden

A little slower, to see if anyone’s in that shelter–

Letitia Street S-Curves

This stop is good for Safeway. You can do 20mph safely through these curves, which include the curve at Andover as well. There’s a slow order through all of this of 25mph, but it used to be 20, which I recommend. There’s the zone, then a tree. Stop where you like.
After that tree is a telephone pole, and right after that telephone pole is another tree. In between the telephone pole and the tree just past it is a sectional insulator. Remember, you don’t need to slow down for it, but you do need to coast through it. It’s right at the midpoint between the pole and tree.

Andover

Yes, you probably have runners from Safeway. Do you wait? Don’t you? I use the rules of thumb above (“Runners” section), but it’s your preference. I tend not to wait for people who are across the street from where I am.
This light turns red quickly (which may decide the above for you).
Watch the curve after you leave the zone; you just barely fit, and on hot days you may lose your poles on the straightaway if you're far to the right. Is it nighttime with no traffic? Before crossing the intersection and starting the curve, you can see the lanes behind you pretty well in your left mirrors; you might consider splitting for ease. This is why you picked nights– you get the whole road to play with!
I split as I approach Genesee to avoid parked car doors on the right.

Genesee

Transfer point for the 50. On your side right now, it goes to Beacon Hill, Sodo, and West Seattle. In the other direction, toward Seward Park and Othello St, passengers need to catch it eastbound on Genesee by that Shell gas station.
Check your time. Are you headed only to Henderson? Congratulations. This is your last timepoint. If not, you still have Graham and Henderson (remember, you can always arrive at your trip’s final timepoint early).
Merge left to split as you leave the zone, the better to avoid parked car doors. The cars on your left won’t like it; boo for them. You’re bigger. Plus, this is Rainier Avenue; they’ve likely been on buses before, and likely been behind buses. They’ll let you in.

Alaska

On hot days you may lose poles crossing the intersection. Why? When the temperature gets over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the wire starts to expand and sag a little– not a lot, but enough to make staying on the wire finicky. To mitigate this, keep it below 10mph while crossing the intersection and hug the left of your lane.
The closer you are to being directly beneath the wire, the more likely you are to stay on. This is why you never lose poles on the 49; all the wire is directly above the coach. On Rainier, the road often tilts to the right, causing the top of your coach to be at an angle farther away from the wire; the bus thinks something’s going wrong, even though nothing is, and will drop your poles in a fit of excessive caution. This is why I miss those Bredas! This will be a bigger issue on your northbound trip; we’ll get to that later.

Edmunds to Brandon

Pull all the way to the stop bar to serve the passengers. This way, when the light turns green, you’ll trigger the bus light (if it’s active).
Watch those cars coming and going from the Hummingbird Saloon on the right side just past Hudson.
After 39th (which OBS calls out as “Dawson”), there’s a sectional insulator that lines up with the middle of the second driveway on the right.
You don’t have to slow down for these curves, including the one up there past Brandon, other than to drive safely. But as regards the wire– you’ll stay on because, as you can see, there’s a lot of support wire built in, making the curvature of your lane of wire smoother and less kinked, allowing for quicker passage.

Orcas

This zone only holds one coach.
This is a camera light. You are more likely to get dinged here than at MLK because at MLK you just left a zone and you’re going slowly; here, you’re cruising in at a decent speed. You see the counting hand; no need to rush. Just stop. Try to stop for yellow lights; you’ll find yourself less stressed, and with a lower heart rate. At least I do when I’m not flooring it all the time. I like to drift down Rainier; brain science reveals that driving over 25mph puts you in a different mental state more keyed for panic and apathy.
25mph or under is scientifically proven to elevate your mood, which, since you’re doing this for 8 hours, you care about.

Graham

After Kenny, I start splitting. Either that or I go slow. You’ll fit in lane 1, but if there’s no traffic you might just split to get those parked car doors off the mind.
After servicing Graham, I definitely split for the curves going toward Holly. You don’t have to, but it’s easier to stay on the wire if you do. I continue splitting until halfway down the straightaway toward Holly, then I drift back into lane 1 to service the zone at Holly. I put my 4-ways on when splitting, so the cars behind me know I’m up to something.

Holly

We’ve all lost our poles here. Every last one of us. Especially in the summer. Especially all the time. With Bredas the only time you lost poles was driver error, but the purple bus is sensitive. It’s okay to be sensitive, right? Your cute little bus is just trying to help. As I mentioned under “Alaska,” the tilt of the roadway in combination with the poles being a little farther to the left are what cause it. The macro solution is obvious: King County needs to move the wire to the right, and this headache would go away instantly. Clearly that must be more complicated than it seems. Until you and I run Metro, let’s not stress about it and go for the micro solution: split lanes immediately after servicing the zone. Slowly and smoothly get out there. If it’s busy, the cars will hate you. I say, who cares. I like you.

Nathan on cars

Plus, as with all cars failing to signal, cutting you off, being absent-minded, making incomprehensible decisions: You’re a professional. It doesn’t bother you. I don’t tell myself car drivers are stupid; that may be true, but I’ll lose my faith in humanity in about an hour if I think that. I can’t think that. I think, they’re absent-minded. They’re concentrating on other things. If they were actually focused, they’d do an okay job. This isn’t an excuse, but an explanation. It doesn’t matter to me if this explanation is true or not; I just need to believe it as my truth, so I can stay reasonably sane. Also, I’ve noticed if I actively look for safe drivers (wow, that car signaled!), I start noticing more of them, and more of them, until I’m convinced there’s a ton of really terrific car drivers out there. It’s all in your perspective.

Holly (continued)

You don’t have to do the above. You can also get through it just by doing 10mph for a while. But if splitting is doable, I go for the split. The real estate is there; you may as well take it. It’s a smoother ride for your people, avoiding all those bumps on the right edge of the lane, and you don’t have to sit there doing 10mph for what feels like a quarter mile.
While passing the gas station on the right, you can back in lane 1. Be aware of a dip in the road as you cross Willow, the street right before your next zone at Frontenac.

Frontenac

Careful getting out of here. Somebody will want Othello, so you’ll choose lane 1.

Othello

Is your follower behind you? Consider pulling past the zone, all the way to the end of the last driveway, to make room for 2 coaches at this zone. I split the lanes clear down to Rose after servicing Othello, not for the wire (you won’t lose poles here) but for those pesky car doors. Speaking of leaders and followers:

Skip-stopping in a trolley

We’ll talk about skip-stopping on Third Avenue when we get back up there. This is different.
Let’s say you’re the 7 to Henderson, and the 7 to Prentice has caught up to you. The upcoming zone has a passenger waiting, but you don’t have dropoffs. The 7 behind you is visible to the waiting passenger. I say, skip the passenger. Your follower will get him. However:
Let’s say instead you’re the 7 to Prentice, and the 7 behind you is the one that only goes to Henderson. I say you do have to stop for this guy, even though you have no dropoffs. Why? Because he might need Prentice. The bus behind you needs to go everywhere you’re going in order for you to skip people. Otherwise you might be screwing the passengers.

Henderson

Check the DDU or your signage to see what you’re supposed to do here. If the signage code on the DDU says “20A,” you only need to go to up to Henderson and turn left. You’re a “7 to Rainier Beach,” and after servicing Cloverdale you’ll get in lane 2 and go up to the split in the wire, activating your left turn to trip the poles onto the left wire, no deadspot. Take the turn deep and square to stay under the wire and have greater visibility in this area.
For the love of all things holy, please pull far enough forward that a 2nd coach can pull in behind you. That means going past the 987 zone and up to the utility pole that has a sign which just says, “BUS.” I don’t care if you park here and use the restroom; just please pull far enough forward that I can fit behind you.
If your signage says “7 Prentice St,” and your DDU reflects that by showing the “AF” signage code for that, you instead get to go straight (either way your DDU says “7 to S Henderson St,” so don’t go by that). Somebody will yell out, “are you turnin’ or goin’ straight?” and you’ll get to say, “goin’ straight!” and they’ll be thrilled. They like it when you go this way.
You remain in lane 1, slowing down for deadspot which is at the far corner of the driveway that’s blocked off, the last driveway on this block before the intersection. You cross Henderson and drop off most of your folks; at this zone they can transfer to the 106 or 107 for service to Skyway and Renton.
Bummed that you have to do the Prentice Loop? Comfort yourself with the thought that it's 15 minutes of bus driving where nothing ever happens. How lovely!
Did you forget to go straight? Did you forget to do the Prentice loop? Get back out there and do it. Right on Seward Park Ave, Left on Rainier, put your poles back up and Just Do It. Why? Two reasons:

Some little old lady might be up there crying her eyes out waiting for you. There's always that. And:
Take some pride in your work. Don't do the easiest thing; do the best thing. Be good at what you do.

51st

Somebody asked if you go to the Safeway in Rainier Beach; this is it.

54th

You can use this Taco Bell for Comfort Station if you're feelin' desperate.

57th

There’s a slow order of 10mph through this turn and the following kinks as you get onto Waters Avenue, which I find amusing because nobody in their right mind would ever drive through here faster than that! You’ve got the hard turn, the guys in front of the bar (wave hello!), the joggers congregating across the way, kids playing on the right and again up there on the left, plus some characters switching cars on the right for reasons we won’t ask about.

61st

Okay. I know that “Do Not Enter” sign looks like it refers to you, but it’s actually for the left side of the island. You’re fine to continue to the right. Simply follow the wire you’re on; contrary to that annoying adage you’ve been hearing at the Base (“just follow the wire!”), which makes no sense downtown, here the phrase really does ring true, because there’s no other wire in sight

62nd

Turn right on 62nd while rockin’ and rollin’ like the professional you are. Is someone getting off here? Ask them if they need to cross in front of you, to eliminate awkward confusion. I split all the way up 62nd and down 64th, with my 4-ways on.

Prentice

Every sensible bone in your body thinks you should drive the bus up to that Stop sign at Renton Avenue, but the 7 is an ancient route, and in ancient times they planned routes to go down tiny streets. Follow the wire: your turn is onto lil’ old Prentice Street, which is 1 block before the Stop sign. Square off the turn.

64th

Your square turn here will be deeper than the shallow turn the wire performs; slow down at the end of the turn to stay on the wire. As with any turn in a trolley, wait until your bus has completely straightened out before accelerating. Why? The back of the bus hasn’t finished turning yet, and that’s where the poles are!

Waters

Creep forward at the stop bar. Creep slowly. When you have a clear line of sight– the road is yours.

Waters to 57th

Slow to 10mph for this curve, in accordance with the Slow Order.

57th to Rainier

I split this turn, because if I try to do the whole thing from lane 1 into lane 1, I’ll lose my poles– like the situation back at Prentice and 64th, the wire turns more shallowly than my bus, and I solve this here by splitting.

Seward Park Avenue

The deadspot is as you cross the “porchfront sidewalk” of the Deli. They’ll let you use their restroom if you ask nicely! Pull your poles if you do so, but remember you’ve got your own Metro Comfort Station at the Henderson terminal.
Between here and Henderson, I usually don’t pick up passengers because they all want the 7 to Downtown. To clarify this for the sake of concern for the passengers and minimize frustration, I may sign my coach up as “To Terminal” (3EE), so they know I’m not actually a 7 to Downtown. Your signage defaults at this point to say, “7 to Rainier Beach,” but no one reads that.

Henderson

As you approach Henderson, split the lanes for your right turn. Signal right to trip the right-turn switch. I usually drop my passengers after I’ve made the turn, and will sometimes tell them so by way of explanation (“I’ll let you out after I make this turn!”)
You made it. Beautiful. As I mentioned above, For the love of all things holy, please pull far enough forward that a 2nd coach can pull in behind you. That means going past the 987 zone and up to the utility pole that has a sign which just says, “BUS.”
When you pull up to the layover down there, pull all the way up. Pull forward at all terminals as soon as it’s possible to do so. Notice that there are 2 sets of side wire, allowing for 2 coaches to park here and for the 2nd coach to leave 1st if necessary. Be mindful of where you stop with relation to the wire, so you can get out.

Sleepers

Ah, there is someone back there. Detailed thoughts on your choices here. If sleepers are the most challenging part of your night, you're doing great.

You did it. Enjoy those precious minutes. Use that Comfort Station, stretch it out, and eat something besides junk food. See you on the next trip!

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For Night Operators: Tips on Sleepers

5/15/2020

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Let’s talk about this. [NOTE: this post predates the new, and fabulous, sleeper security removal teams, which obviate many of the challenges below at night. Know where and when these teams are operating. Tell 'em thanks after they've solved your issues!]

1. The Big Picture

First off: remember to think about the systemic view. Yes, it’s annoying that you have to use part of your break waking this person up. You’re thinking, Gosh, why are they so lazy?

Appearances can be deceiving.

Everyone looks lazy when trying to get valuable sleep, which all humans share in enjoying. Often, you know they aren’t lazy precisely because they’re trying to get rest– which they’re likely doing because they have things to do during the day, like going to the day labor facility in the morning. They want to be properly rested. Folks without such pursuits will be out partying, not obsessing over finding the longest bus routes to sleep on.

And, let’s be honest: shelters suck. They involve bedbugs, theft, restrictions and noise. Buses, incredibly, are a safer and cleaner option.

Some of the sleepers I’ve known have gone on to rehabilitate their lives and later come up to me with the good news; a number of those stories are on this blog. Others have setbacks the city just won’t set aside the resources to address, and so they remain on the streets for years. Others have developed coping mechanisms and addictions as temporarily solutions to their problems, but which have put them in more severe straits. Still others simply have a standard of living different than my own, and I try not to judge them for that.

My worst self thinks they’re unfairly getting a free ride through life, unlike the rest of us, but that opinion is woefully lacking in perspective: remember to note the difference in quality of life between you and them. You’ve got it good. They don’t. They really don't.

For whatever reason, the City of Seattle has decided not to fix the problem of housing its own citizens (despite paying enormous lip service to the idea), so for now, until they do, a slew of civil servants have to pick up the slack– we operators, the detox crew, fire department, social workers, shelter crews, volunteers and more. For tonight, let’s just take it a trip at a time.

2. Option One: Wakey Wakey

Look, you only have one non-destination rider tonight. Maybe you let them sleep. Maybe you don’t. Personally, I give so much of myself while I’m driving that I like having some time alone to recharge at the terminal. I do ask everyone to leave. I never demand them to, and I don’t yell (make loud sounds with anything except your voice– raised voices sound too much like anger. Try a crescent wrench or Perrier bottle against a stanchion, perhaps; your flashlight is also an option). I also try to refrain from explicitly telling them to leave at the outset, starting instead with the softer, “it’s the last stop.” When that doesn’t work I do say, “it’s time to step out,” or “we gotta step outside here. Thanks for understanding.” “I’m just asking you outta respect.”

They will react slowly, but don’t you when you wake up in the morning? Be ready to back away quickly; they may react in self-defense, assuming you’re an attacker. Have the doors open. Be closer to a door. Is your leader at a terminal having trouble waking a sleeper? Go up and help them out. This is dramatically easier and safer with two people. I'll try to preempt things by announcing as we approach the terminal, "Alright my friends in the back, we're almost at our last stop, it's time to start waking up. Just givin' you a heads up."

If there is another bus at the terminal in front of me, then I attempt to wake sleepers and put them on that coach. I’m operating on the thinking that that driver will then do the same at his/her next terminal, thus sharing around the sleeper load for the evening. If there’s no other coach, I don’t bother, because where are they going to go? Either way, this is your call. You are entitled to a break if you want one, and if you can take a break with strange men lurking nearby, I look up to you. Maybe one day I’ll rise to your level. You're at an advantage because you get a longer break, rather than wasting minutes waking people.

3. Option Two: Why Bother

But that’s just me. You’ve got three guys in here tonight. Maybe you just let them rest, because why bother with all this. It’s too much hassle, and they need the rest. You’re a better (wo)man than I, friend. I want to be like you. But I have a thirst for alone time at the terminal that I haven’t been able to eradicate. This goes against my own philosophy: If you can’t change something about the job, rewire your brain so you’re okay with whatever it is.

I’m trying to get there with sleepers, and I’m not there yet. I know that if I let them stay on my bus habitually, my bus will become overloaded with non-destination riders to the point that I won’t have room for riders who actually need to get someplace, and I also know there will be a negative impact on the sanitary condition of my bus.

I also like maintaining a sort of consistency: when they see it’s Nathan driving, they’ll think, Oh, he’s nice… but he doesn’t let people stay on. It's predictable in a way I hope minimizes conflict. They know what’s up. “I just need some alone time, you guys, no hard feelings. You’re welcome to join me again in ten minutes, or if you don’t want to wait, there’s that bus in front of me.”

If I didn’t have to worry about sleeper overloading, I don’t think I would much care about whether they’re on or not, but I’m easy to find, and I do the same route nightly, and I really like decompressing at the terminals. I think I have anxiety over waking them because it’s a moment of potential conflict, though I have to admit I’ve never once had a physical altercation issue with a sleeper.

Hopefully you’re better than me and none of this irks you, and you’re able to achieve a level of compassion I hope to one day get to. Maybe you’re awesome, like Paul Margolis is, and you can take a nap with six sleepers on board. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

4. Option Three: Work With Me Here

You can meet them halfway. Tell them they can stay once it’s after midnight, when there’s less buses. Or let them stay on at one terminal, but let them know you’ll ask them to step out when we get to the other end. I would do this on the 5, and it got me a lot of goodwill.

Or just check in on them, if you feel it’s safe to do so, but let ‘em stay. I feel better when I do this third option. You can also let them ride throughout the evening until the terminal before your last trip, at which point you check in on them to see if they’re awake, asking them to leave not then but at your next and last terminal (5th and Jackson, in the case of trolley work).

5. Minimizing stress

When a sleeper gets on, try not to spend the entire trip stressing about the fact that you’ll have to wake them up later. Don’t think about it. Just don’t. You’ll figure out that guy in the back later. For now, just think about driving. Because one of three things will happen:

You’ll get to the terminal, and he’ll leave without issue or you’ll wake him and he’ll leave without issue.
You won’t be able to wake him, and will call someone to come do that for you. You are always entitled to this.
You won’t be able to wake him, and there’s not enough time to call for assistance, and he’s not being a bother, so it’s not a big deal because it’s a short break anyway and you’ll figure it out later– at the next terminal if you like, or at your last terminal.

6. For the Good of the People– and Yourself

Don’t pass a zone just because it has intending sleepers. There may be someone there who actually needs you. Some sleepers suddenly have destinations at a certain point in the night. Marcus rides buses at night, but he has a job he has to get to in the morning. Will likes cruising around, but he has a secret spot of his own he eventually heads to for better rest.

Also, you want the passengers to like you, in case something happens.

Also, if something happens on your bus– you want your bus to be crowded. Because that means more people between you and the incident, and more people who can help you.

Go out there and gather people. It’s counterintuitive, but it will help you.

See you at the terminals!

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Eric, Fully, II: John

How to Drive the 7: The Complete Care Package

How to Drive the 7, Pt IV of IV: Route 49 Southbound

How to Drive the 7, Pt III of IV: Route 49 Northbound

How to Drive the 7, Pt II of IV: 7N, Henderson to Pike

How to Drive the 7, Pt I of IV: 7S, Jackson to Henderson

For Night Operators: Tips on Sleepers

Nathan

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