New bid, new life.
Thanks to the internet I do not have any children.
If I had children, at this rate I would be capable of spending maybe a day a week with them until they graduated from High School. Pets? No such luck, you would read about me in the Bee...something related to animal cruelty. Such is life, and I work for RT...so I get payed like....a zillion dollars an hour... what am I sniveling about? Life is effing great right?
Wrong.
I'm stuck with an empty bag of seniority. Well, not empty...I think I have some vapors somewhere in my bag. Point is, I am cast to the land of shifts that would make some people cringe.
On the other hand, if you can appreciate working until 1 AM 5 days a week, 8 hours and 10 minutes per day on a split shift which more or less guarantees you spend upwards of 12 hours at your job but get paid for 8, you might smile gleefully.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job and I am thankful to have it. Since I am in my twenties, I'm still in that phase of life in which I require instant gratification. Nothing too fancy, but maybe a Friday and Saturday off instead of Wednesday and Thursday. Or maybe a route that starts at say...9 in the morning and ends at around 5 in the afternoon versus 2:30 in the afternoon and ends at 1:12 the next morning.
As soon as I become ensconced in my self-gratificationism, (I know thats not a word, I made it up, think Transitarian) I realize that I must pay the proverbial dues like the scores of rookies who came before me.
It's the truth. It still sucks, and I can still hate it....But I also appreciate it.
See you this afternoon.
Showing posts with label ATU256. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ATU256. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Has your bus driver been Beat by a thug?
So.....I might be treading on some water that just might drown me.
When passengers bitch and moan to me about stuff that happens on the train, I usually nod my head and apologize on behalf of Regional Transit. Usually, this quells the rants and sometimes it only enrages people to the point that they attempt to assault me or something like that. More often than not, they are drunkards, and fall down to the concrete whilst swinging at my lovely face.
I'm one handsome train driver....
But, let me swerve back to the point.
Regional Transit contracts with both the City of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento for enforcement and protection of "every inch" of the transit system in Sacramento.
Um...yeah.
I have searched all over the web, including Sac PD Crime mapping, and Sac County Sheriff Crime mapping and I see incidents near, adjacent, even ON light rail platforms. Since they are folded into the UCR (Universal Crime Report) statistics, most people have no idea when or where the crime was committed. It's a numbers game, and RT plays the odds better than poker after dark on NBC..
Not suprising that I could find no specific information related to assaults, incidents or crimes committed against Bus operators.
I would guess, with relative accuracy that Bus drivers in Sacramento are Assaulted at a rate of 2 per week, at a minimum. Please recognize this is my non-scientific assertion as a bus driver in Sacramento.
My question is this.....
What is more important?
The mantra that the wheels on the bus move no matter what happens is long gone. If the safety of a bus driver is in question, so is that bus drivers passengers.
And...in the end.
Who is responsible for everything that happens on his or her coach?
The BUS OPERATOR.
Bravo?
Sunday, June 3, 2007
"How to complain about SAC-RT Drivers"
I must admit, sometimes I feel like the public that I serve is completely out of touch with reality. Granted, I am skewed to the "pro SAC-RT DRIVER" point of view, more often than not my fellow "SAC-RT DRIVER'S" tend to board the best Sacramento has to offer.
You had a bad day. You just got fired. You missed a connecting bus at 65th Street. Your normal bus is 10 minutes late. OMFG! the light rail broke!
My cousin e-mailed me the following article, with detailed instructions on how to file a complaint against me. And honestly, it hurts.
Update!
The author of the article below reminded me that her article is copywritten material, so here is a direct link to the content written by HeartenSoul.
I'm going to post the entire article, which is long so play along.
"Riding Sacramento Regional Transit buses and light rail can be an infuriating, even frightening, experience. Little guidance exists to resolve issues unless you understand how “the system” works.
In Case of Emergency: Know the difference between a complaint and an emergency. If you are riding Regional Transit and feel that lives are in danger, you must notify the appropriate law enforcement officials. Do NOT call the Customer Satisfaction Unit or 321-BUSS as this will only delay the response of public officials. Contact law enforcement immediately in any way that you can. Trained public-safety officers protect every inch of the public transportation system. You cannot expect the customer service operators to handle a life-or-limb-threatening emergency.
Advocacy: That being said, it is highly likely that you will someday wish to lodge a complaint against the Sacramento Regional Transit level of service. If you follow a few guidelines the complaint process can result in change. However, do not expect that you can file a complaint against a driver and have them removed from the line. It is NOT going to happen. The union is a formidable advocate for the rights and continued employment of each driver. No complaint will escalate to disciplinary level without satisfying the criteria for causing suspension or dismissal as established by the union. Your advocate is any employee of the Regional Transit Customer Satisfaction Unit.
No Immediacy: You must also know that you will not be permitted to lodge a complaint while you are still riding the bus or the light rail. Customer Satisfaction Unit employees are instructed to discontinue your call until you have disembarked. This precaution is necessary so that an altercation between driver and passengers cannot arise and for various other reasons. In any case, there is no immediate remedy available to resolve your complaint. No supervisor can or will be dispatched to stop your bus en-route to discipline the driver. It WILL NOT happen. No radio contact can be made with the driver from the Customer Satisfaction Unit. There are no exceptions. Customer Satisfaction Unit employees do not represent the drivers nor do they talk to the drivers neither do they reprimand the drivers. They may only present your case to the driver’s supervisor in a manner that is approved for communicating complaints. That manner is in writing. Without a life-threatening emergency, there is no immediate resolution forthcoming for any complaint.
Don’t Ask for A Supervisor: Driver Supervisors do not come to the front office to speak with passengers. Driver Supervisors will not take your phone call and will not drive out to address you in person. There are many, many myths about people who think they can call the Customer Satisfaction Unit and have a supervisor personally address their complaint on the spot. It will not happen. Don’t even ask.
Identify the Vehicle: Before getting on the phone and dialing the complaint department, it would be helpful to have the necessary information ready. The necessary information for filing a complaint in published periodically in the bus-book. It includes providing the route number of your bus or which light rail line you are upset about. What is the date and time of day, your direction of travel, and the location of the beginning of your trip? You may be asked to give a physical description of the driver. Then you will be asked to provide a dialogue of the situation. Complaining in the heat of the moment might cause you to forget details that will either make or break your complaint.
Identify the Driver: RT Supervisors dismiss many more complaints for lack of accurate identifying information than the number of complaints that result in any type of action. For instance, identifying a driver as a Hispanic male when he is a Native American male will cause a dismissal. If you don’t know it as a fact, don’t share it. For some routes in the RT system, it is vital to provide a description of the driver. There are so many Route 23 buses, for instance, that seldom run on schedule. If a #23 driver “catches up” to the bus running ahead of it and passes it, the first driver to arrive at Arden Mall will not be the first scheduled driver. You could easily cause the wrong driver to be reprimanded if you don’t provide a physical description. The Hispanic male could be more accurately defined as male, caramel colored skin, brown eyes, cropped dark hair with sunglasses and an RT baseball cap.
Just the Facts Once you’ve provided the facts of who, when, and where it is time to share the “what” and the “how” of the situation. Do not presume the “why”. Just state what happened. Don’t guess that the driver passed you at your stop because he was talking to another passenger. Don’t suppose that the driver jerked the bus so he could knock you off your feet because you took too much time getting on the bus. State the fact and only the fact. “The bus jerked and I fell on the floor before I could take a seat”. Don’t suppose to explain why a driver did anything. Your complaint can be dismissed if your guess is wrong and chances are, even if your guess is correct, the driver will have an alternate story. Facts cannot be disputed. Suppositions can. Do not suppose anything.
Satisfaction is NOT guaranteed If you expect to know the outcome of your complaint it is absolutely vital that you request a response in writing. Do not file a complaint and leave out the punch line. “I want a call from the supervisor”. State your desired outcome in simple language and your request will be addressed by the driver’s supervisor. If you ask for a phone call, provide your phone number. This is not to say that the supervisor will grant you your request. It only assures you that they will reply.
ADA: If your complaint involves an ADA issue, a process and timeline is published online and in the bus book. There are stringent laws in place to protect the rights of the disabled. Please refer to the latest publications from Sacramento Regional Transit for understanding your rights in the complaint process. Signature Required Debate continues about the union requirement for signatures on passenger reports. According to union rules, without a signature, the complaint cannot become a part of the driver’s permanent record. If you send an email complaint and expect it to escalate to disciplinary action or to become a part of the record, you must follow up by signing and mailing a physical copy. Don’t Hold Back In any case, this article could not possibly address all the various situations encountered on the Sacramento Regional Transit System that a passenger would wish to report.
The majority of the passenger service reports filed each month are for driver behavior so this article focuses on reporting situations of that nature. Do not expect the driver to be removed from his job without sufficient cause. One complaint does not satisfy the criteria to establish sufficient cause. Multiple complaints by various riders must be received and substantiated. It may distress the readers and passengers to know that some of the most egregious complaints are dismissed on minor insufficiencies in the complaint process. More reports will net better results. If more than one passenger reports a driver’s surly or nasty behavior, the reports become more credible and substantial."
Honestly, if the author of the above article is of the notion that I (SAC-RT Driver) and my brother and sister driver's start out our day with the intention to provide as horrible an experience as possible for them, it seems he/she is skipping the medication. As with any large urban transit organization, hiccups happen. It's life. It's part of coping.
And, contrary to what some people think...when a passenger complains about a driver...they find us. RT is like the NSA.
I remember details, forget almost nothing, Guarantee Satisfaction & safely get you and your family to where they need to be everyday.
I'm an RT Driver
You had a bad day. You just got fired. You missed a connecting bus at 65th Street. Your normal bus is 10 minutes late. OMFG! the light rail broke!
My cousin e-mailed me the following article, with detailed instructions on how to file a complaint against me. And honestly, it hurts.
Update!
The author of the article below reminded me that her article is copywritten material, so here is a direct link to the content written by HeartenSoul.
I'm going to post the entire article, which is long so play along.
"Riding Sacramento Regional Transit buses and light rail can be an infuriating, even frightening, experience. Little guidance exists to resolve issues unless you understand how “the system” works.
In Case of Emergency: Know the difference between a complaint and an emergency. If you are riding Regional Transit and feel that lives are in danger, you must notify the appropriate law enforcement officials. Do NOT call the Customer Satisfaction Unit or 321-BUSS as this will only delay the response of public officials. Contact law enforcement immediately in any way that you can. Trained public-safety officers protect every inch of the public transportation system. You cannot expect the customer service operators to handle a life-or-limb-threatening emergency.
Advocacy: That being said, it is highly likely that you will someday wish to lodge a complaint against the Sacramento Regional Transit level of service. If you follow a few guidelines the complaint process can result in change. However, do not expect that you can file a complaint against a driver and have them removed from the line. It is NOT going to happen. The union is a formidable advocate for the rights and continued employment of each driver. No complaint will escalate to disciplinary level without satisfying the criteria for causing suspension or dismissal as established by the union. Your advocate is any employee of the Regional Transit Customer Satisfaction Unit.
No Immediacy: You must also know that you will not be permitted to lodge a complaint while you are still riding the bus or the light rail. Customer Satisfaction Unit employees are instructed to discontinue your call until you have disembarked. This precaution is necessary so that an altercation between driver and passengers cannot arise and for various other reasons. In any case, there is no immediate remedy available to resolve your complaint. No supervisor can or will be dispatched to stop your bus en-route to discipline the driver. It WILL NOT happen. No radio contact can be made with the driver from the Customer Satisfaction Unit. There are no exceptions. Customer Satisfaction Unit employees do not represent the drivers nor do they talk to the drivers neither do they reprimand the drivers. They may only present your case to the driver’s supervisor in a manner that is approved for communicating complaints. That manner is in writing. Without a life-threatening emergency, there is no immediate resolution forthcoming for any complaint.
Don’t Ask for A Supervisor: Driver Supervisors do not come to the front office to speak with passengers. Driver Supervisors will not take your phone call and will not drive out to address you in person. There are many, many myths about people who think they can call the Customer Satisfaction Unit and have a supervisor personally address their complaint on the spot. It will not happen. Don’t even ask.
Identify the Vehicle: Before getting on the phone and dialing the complaint department, it would be helpful to have the necessary information ready. The necessary information for filing a complaint in published periodically in the bus-book. It includes providing the route number of your bus or which light rail line you are upset about. What is the date and time of day, your direction of travel, and the location of the beginning of your trip? You may be asked to give a physical description of the driver. Then you will be asked to provide a dialogue of the situation. Complaining in the heat of the moment might cause you to forget details that will either make or break your complaint.
Identify the Driver: RT Supervisors dismiss many more complaints for lack of accurate identifying information than the number of complaints that result in any type of action. For instance, identifying a driver as a Hispanic male when he is a Native American male will cause a dismissal. If you don’t know it as a fact, don’t share it. For some routes in the RT system, it is vital to provide a description of the driver. There are so many Route 23 buses, for instance, that seldom run on schedule. If a #23 driver “catches up” to the bus running ahead of it and passes it, the first driver to arrive at Arden Mall will not be the first scheduled driver. You could easily cause the wrong driver to be reprimanded if you don’t provide a physical description. The Hispanic male could be more accurately defined as male, caramel colored skin, brown eyes, cropped dark hair with sunglasses and an RT baseball cap.
Just the Facts Once you’ve provided the facts of who, when, and where it is time to share the “what” and the “how” of the situation. Do not presume the “why”. Just state what happened. Don’t guess that the driver passed you at your stop because he was talking to another passenger. Don’t suppose that the driver jerked the bus so he could knock you off your feet because you took too much time getting on the bus. State the fact and only the fact. “The bus jerked and I fell on the floor before I could take a seat”. Don’t suppose to explain why a driver did anything. Your complaint can be dismissed if your guess is wrong and chances are, even if your guess is correct, the driver will have an alternate story. Facts cannot be disputed. Suppositions can. Do not suppose anything.
Satisfaction is NOT guaranteed If you expect to know the outcome of your complaint it is absolutely vital that you request a response in writing. Do not file a complaint and leave out the punch line. “I want a call from the supervisor”. State your desired outcome in simple language and your request will be addressed by the driver’s supervisor. If you ask for a phone call, provide your phone number. This is not to say that the supervisor will grant you your request. It only assures you that they will reply.
ADA: If your complaint involves an ADA issue, a process and timeline is published online and in the bus book. There are stringent laws in place to protect the rights of the disabled. Please refer to the latest publications from Sacramento Regional Transit for understanding your rights in the complaint process. Signature Required Debate continues about the union requirement for signatures on passenger reports. According to union rules, without a signature, the complaint cannot become a part of the driver’s permanent record. If you send an email complaint and expect it to escalate to disciplinary action or to become a part of the record, you must follow up by signing and mailing a physical copy. Don’t Hold Back In any case, this article could not possibly address all the various situations encountered on the Sacramento Regional Transit System that a passenger would wish to report.
The majority of the passenger service reports filed each month are for driver behavior so this article focuses on reporting situations of that nature. Do not expect the driver to be removed from his job without sufficient cause. One complaint does not satisfy the criteria to establish sufficient cause. Multiple complaints by various riders must be received and substantiated. It may distress the readers and passengers to know that some of the most egregious complaints are dismissed on minor insufficiencies in the complaint process. More reports will net better results. If more than one passenger reports a driver’s surly or nasty behavior, the reports become more credible and substantial."
Honestly, if the author of the above article is of the notion that I (SAC-RT Driver) and my brother and sister driver's start out our day with the intention to provide as horrible an experience as possible for them, it seems he/she is skipping the medication. As with any large urban transit organization, hiccups happen. It's life. It's part of coping.
And, contrary to what some people think...when a passenger complains about a driver...they find us. RT is like the NSA.
I remember details, forget almost nothing, Guarantee Satisfaction & safely get you and your family to where they need to be everyday.
I'm an RT Driver
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