Operator Refresher: 2025

Updated for 2025–resources and ways of navigating this fascinating job. Welcome new operators; and welcome to the old-timers, too. If we don't have refresher courses, we lose our touch. Maybe this post can serve as a refresher course of sorts while we wait for the County to pony up the cash for such things in real life.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty below, let's focus on three things going forward in the new year.

1. Stay in your seat during security situations. You're safer there, with access to the radio, and the shield to protect you. Opening the doors makes the shield more effective for you, and gives others an opportunity to move around or exit if they wish.
   
2. Let them "win." Don't give in to pride and try to win arguments with passengers, even if you know you're right. In the moment this can be very hard to do, but keep reminding yourself: Avoid contests of will. Why? Because you have a lot to lose. Some of the passengers have nothing to lose. It's not an equal playing field. Deep breaths!
   
3. Check your left mirrors *before* you move the coach. You may be tempted to begin pulling out from a zone while checking those mirrors; look at them first, and then move.  Otherwise you're re-entering traffic blind, and that's not worth it. Now, on to the nitty-gritty:
   

A few reminders about operating downtown:

Third Avenue is the street which has the most bus traffic per hour, per day, in the world. It requires focus and skill to make this work, and you have focus and skill. Take pride in what you do. Do the Weave. What is the Weave? It’s explained fully in the Book (now called the Manual, under "Third Ave Operations"), but for now, you can condense it all into three easy tips:

1. Use the left lane except to service a zone, or prepare to service a zone. This way, you don’t block zones that aren’t yours.
   
2. The bus in the right lane has the right of way. It goes first when a red light turns green.
   
3. Don’t pass buses that use the same stops as you (unless their 4-ways are on). It’s easier than you think to learn which routes use your stops and which don’t!
   

• Don’t, please don’t, be that bus who just sits in lane 1 all the way up 3rd. You annoy everyone behind you, and you make things more complicated for yourself by reducing right-side clearance and creating opportunities for impulse riders who want you at a zone that isn’t yours. Their bus will come shortly.

• Don’t use your 4-ways at a zone in the CBD, unless you’re going to be there for a while (wheelchair, issue, etc).
• No right turns on red in the CBD.
• Every zone in King County: Third bus in line makes a second stop. Scan the zone just in case.
• Be careful crossing 3rd at Spring. Cars coming up Spring have a line of sight that has them looking at the traffic light at Fourth Avenue, not Third. There have been many accidents here. You shouldn’t be charging any intersections in the CBD, but don't risk this one. Not worth it.
• Use the left lane approaching the NB 3rd/Virginia zone, so coaches turning right onto Virginia can use lane 1. (While we're talking about 3/Virginia, remember to never roll the curb during that right turn, as your coach will get damaged by the overhang there. This is a fireable offense.)
  
• NB 3rd/Pine: Pull all the way up to the driveway, past the zone flag. This allows more room for coaches behind you. Similar to NB 15th/42nd (Pull well past the flag, for the same reason), or EB Campus Parkway/Brooklyn (when another coach is visible behind you).

 

• Take care of each other. If you see a trolley operator putting his poles back up, and you’re the bus coming up behind him, don’t pass him/her. Use your coach to block traffic so (s)he can perform that task safely. Or, do like in the old days and hop out of your coach and help them put their poles back up.

• Working at night, like me? Know where the security teams are in the CBD, and feel free to reroute your coach to them (head up to 3/Virg instead of turning right for your 36 layover, etc) if you need them. In the aforementioned example, there’s even wire that allows for you to go to them and then return to your terminal without dropping poles.

Speaking of trolleys:

Hello, operators new to trolley! A few reminders:

• You don’t need to power through deadspots. It’s bad for the electricity (you’re arcing the power every time you do that), and it gives a jolt to the passengers, which they don’t like, especially if you’re doing that for the whole ride. Instead, coast through them. Take pride in your work! Memorize where all the deadspots are for your route. This is easier than it sounds: start with the CBD, which has the most complicated wire. Make a note of where the front of your bus is when you hit a deadspot. I use the middle of the front doors as my reference point. When I pass by that tree, or that newspaper bin. The next time you go through that deadspot, lift your foot off the power pedal right before you pass that point. You'll get to where you know where every deadspot is on your route within a couple of inches. What a pro you are!
  
• You don’t need to go fast. Trolleys are designed to roll. Diesels have pretty strong retarders; trolleys don’t. They roll further than you think. you’ll make it through your deadspot fine. Also, because they roll further than you think, you don’t need to use the power pedal as much as you do in a diesel. If you do, you’ll end up braking too much, and we all know how much that hurts our knees. Maximize the time you spend coasting.
• Use the side wire at every opportunity, especially at 5/Jackson, NB Pike, and SB Union. You don’t know what’s going to happen in these places, and you may be there for a while for whatever reason, and you don’t need to hold up trolleys behind you.
  
• Slow down to 9-10mph for special work. You'll get written up at 11mph.
• Some people like using the route override switch. I don't. I never use it. Too much chance of forgetting it later and creating problems for myself. Turn signals only for me. Which brings up:
• Worried about your turn signal accidentally triggering a switch, because you're not familiar enough with the wire yet, or because you have to merge where there is a switch? Use your four-ways instead! Much better than not signaling at all. Let cars know you're about to do something weird.
• Don't accelerate until after the back of your coach has completed the turn– remember, the poles are still going through the turning wire.
  
• Pay attention to the wire. Pay more attention to the road, but pay attention to the wire. If you're not completely sure which lane of wire your poles are on, get out and confirm.
• If safe to do so, I find it faster to put the poles up manually, rather hitting "lower poles" and ESSing. This is what we all did not so long ago, when trolleys had no ESS!
• Hot tip: Open the rear end of your front roof hatch so you can hear the wire. Try driving with the AC/heaters off for a while, so you can familiarize yourself more easily with what you want to hear– and especially what a fahslabend sounds like.

Generally (diesels and trolleys):

• Don’t rush. Don’t charge yellows. Take your time. Accidents and arguments happen when you're rushing. I know what you’re thinking: that if you take your time, your break won’t be as long. I have two answers to that: firstly, it’s less true than you think. Driving at 35mph instead of 25mph only gets you to the terminal 2 or 3 minutes earlier. You can't fight it. Doing the route at 25mph is much more relaxing. There's no point punishing yourself to get an extra couple of minutes. It’s not equal to the degree of added mental stress, and added physical strain. I’ve only recently discovered that half the reason my body doesn’t ache is because I keep it under 25-30mph. It’s worth 2 minutes of your break to be relaxed your whole ride down. Remember this also when you’re getting toward the end of your route, end of your shift, or running late– don’t speed up. You’ll want to. Don’t. That's when accidents happen. You want to keep this job!
  
• Secondly, if you’re relaxed during your trip, you end up not needing as long of a break. You’ve taken a bit of a “break,” as it were, while you were driving!
• Don't like your schedule? Neither do I. Fill out a green sheet (OSFR) so Scheduling knows about it. I know you think that'll lead nowhere. I was filling one out for the route 2 many years ago when I was new, and a senior operator laughed at me the whole time, watching me and telling me what a hopeless waste of effort I was creating for myself. And you know what happened? They fixed the 2 schedule. Don't complain about your runcard if you haven't filled out a green sheet.
• Pull forward at terminals. This makes room for your coworkers behind you.
• We’re a team. Be nice to other ops. Don’t run them off the road, pass on the right, or do things that cars do. You’re a professional. You’re beyond stuff like that. You’re not in a rush. Run it late and stay happy. Wave hello.
• See an operator having an issue at a terminal? Go over and see what they need. You can tell if they’re having a passenger issue because their doors will be open. Everything suddenly becomes easy to handle when there are two operators. Sleeper, unruly passenger, etc... suddenly it’s a cinch. Be that cinch. Operating can be a lonely job. Our colleagues need to know there are others out there who care. Who will step in. Be that person. Wave hello!

Further reading, including passenger stuff:

-What I've Learned From Other Bus Drivers (half of everything I know comes from my awesome colleagues. Tone of hot tips here)
-A Love Letter for My Colleagues: Exercises and Stretches for Operators (half the battle of a happy mental state is taking care of your body. Those lil' aches and pains you're having may be impacting your view of the job more than you think!)
-For New Bus Drivers: Thoughts, Tips, and Stories
-Skip-stopping and Newbies (explanation of the Weave vs skip-stopping outside the CBD)
-How to Drive the 7: The Complete Care Package (everything from stop-by-stop directions to tips on fights and sleepers!)
-I Don't Know What a Trolley is, Part I
-I Don't Know What a Trolley is, Part II