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Trolley buses remind me of manual transmissions in cars. They demand qualities which require added effort, but which make us better drivers: attention, focus, present concentration, a continual honing of skill, a talent for timing, and an ability to read the road further ahead than normal. No, they're not the easy choice. But easier is not always better. Aren't knives best sharpened against the unpleasant resistance of stone? Muscles best created through effort and strain? Challenges make us better, and trolleys are a skill set with a steep learning curve. I think they're the best work in the system. Read on for tips on how to excel while you're at Atlantic. One day you'll have the seniority to pick away from here, but you just might find yourself wanting to stick around...
If needed: click here for a breakdown of what trolley buses are and how they work. Now, let's begin:

Navigating through special work
Don’t power through deadspots. It’s bad for the electricity (you’re arcing the power every time you do that, and you may blow your fuses), 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. How? 
  • Memorize where all the deadspots are for your route. This is easier than it sounds: start with the CBD, which has the most complex 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 or manhole cover. The next time you go through that deadspot, lift your foot off the power pedal right before you pass your landmark. You'll get to where you know where every deadspot is on your route within a couple of inches. What a pro you are!
  • Slow down. 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.
  • Slow down to 9-10 mph for special work. You'll get written up at 11 mph. This speed is only for the moment when your shoes pass through special work (whether deadspot or live). Sectional insulators are the one type of special work you don't need to slow down for (but, do still coast through them - they are deadspots).

Landmarks and difficult special work: an example
Let's use outbound 5th and Jackson as an example, and go through it step by step, together. Assuming we're using a sixty-foot trolley (the deadspots will be in different locations in a forty-footer):
  1. Don't rush this. If the ‘don't walk’ 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).
  2. As mentioned above, 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.
  3. Green light. Accelerate to 9mph before reaching the middle of the intersection.
  4. 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.
  5. Deadspot 1 (as your poles return to straight wire): your front is just about to cross the middle of 5th Avenue.
  6. Deadspot 2: just after middle of 5th, almost as you touch 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.
  7. Accelerate for 10 feet or so.
  8. Deadspot 3: As your front door passes by the anime-style painted image of a young woman in a chef hat and apron on the right wall.
  9. Accelerate for 6 feet or so.
  10. Deadspot 4: right before your front doors pass the door with white number zero on it.
  11. 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, and give a smoother ride. Find your own landmarks. 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.

General reminders
  • Use the side wire at every opportunity, especially at 5/Jackson, NB Pike, SB Union, and Prefontaine. 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. If you're the lead coach, use the side wire at these zones every time.
  • Don't accelerate until after the back of your coach has completed the turn– you may feel done with the turn up front, but the poles back there are still going through the turning wire.
  • Every split of lanes in the wire involves one lane with a deadspot, and one with live wire. Learn which is which in every case, so you know whether or not you want to hear that deadspot beep. This way you'll have a good idea of where your poles are just by listening.
  • Pay attention to the wire. Pay more attention to the road, but pay attention to the wire. This sounds like a lot to keep track of, but it eventually becomes second nature. If you're not completely sure which lane of wire your poles are on, get out and confirm.
  • 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 switch activating sounds like.

Stopping smoothly on an uphill
Using the hill holder rather than the service brake can make this smoother. Here's how: 
  1. Pick a point where you want to stop, ideally just past the zone flag (why past the zone flag, instead of before? Two reasons: 1) you eliminate right mirror clearance issues for when pulling out; and 2) you confirm if anyone at the zone actually wants you).
  2. Ease up on the power pedal, while still applying pressure, slowing down the coach while still powering forward, until you're almost stopped.
  3. The second the coach is perfectly still (this is easiest for me to judge by looking at the lower edge of windshield in relation to the pavement beyond it), hit the hill holder. Your coach is stopped! No herky-jerky whatsoever!
  4. Do not use the power pedal to hold the coach still on an uphill. This is absolutely terrible for the traction motor. Use the hill holder.

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 rope straight down to get the pole off the wire. This prevents 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.
  • Do not hit the “lower poles" switch- this slows down the process.
  • 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 and hot carbon on the pole don’t fall on your face!

Merging during switches
You’re southbound on 3rd, approaching Union.
  • I recommend using your 4-ways in this 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. I don't use the override; too much of forgetting it's activated. It's turn signals or 4-ways for me. 
  • 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.

Pulling into the yard
  1. As a courtesy to your fellow ops behind you (like me!), PLEASE don't lower your poles until you've parked in your assigned lane. Here's how to park in the yard without losing your poles:
  2. Hug the left curb. 
  3. Notice the arrows and lane numbers on the cement; while hugging the left curb, drive until *your driver's seat* is on top of your assigned lane number.

  4. Crank the wheel hard to the right, then proceed slowly, until you hear the 'click' of the directional switch. These are directionals, not fahslabend switches, meaning they're not activated by turn signals but by the angle of your coach during the turn.
  5. Coast through the deadspot, which starts right after the click, then drive up your lane.

Qualifying on trolley routes
Pay attention. Stand at the front. Ask questions. For the love of all things holy, don’t sit in the back with your headphones in. Trolleys are a challenge, and you don't need to learn all this the hard way. We're a team at Atlantic. Try qualifying with someone who speaks your native language, so you can hash out all the details. If the driver isn't being a good teacher, try a different bus or come find me.

Third
Third Avenue has the highest amount of bus traffic of any road in the world. Don't clog it. Here’s a recap for how to do the Weave in three lines:
  1. Use the left lane except to enter or service a zone;
  2. Don’t pass buses that use the same stops as you (unless they have their 4-ways on);
  3. 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 passenger confusion over what stops you stop at. Memorize which routes stop where; they're generally grouped by route type and destination (all trolleys use the same stops; all buses to Fremont use the same stops, etc).

Thank you for being a professional. The only thing left to say is the one thing that's more important than every single little detail above: 

We're a team. 

Let's look out for each other.