Given the following:
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/sv?cbp=12,242.56,,0,2.26&cbll=45.481579,-122.707746&v=1&panoid=&gl=&hl=en&w=425&h=240]
I arrive at the bus stop at SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and 30th Ave. The shelter is on a blind corner, basically. I check the satellite-updated constantly-refreshed magic transit website on my iPhone and find that the bus is due in 15 minutes. I’m tired, so I sit in the shelter, knowing that if I’m still sitting down when the bus shows up, I might miss it if the driver isn’t careful, or if the driver doesn’t have to stop for the traffic light.
Several minutes early, the bus rolls by while I’m killing time by surfing on my iPhone. I hear it, I look up, and I see the bus driver make eye contact with me, signal to pull over, and slow to a stop.
I grab my bag and run for the bus. I hop on, grateful the driver saw me in time. I fish out my pass and thank the driver for stopping…
And the driver launches into a lecture. “You should be standing out and looking for the bus. I can’t see you on that corner if you’re standing the shelter.”
I cut him off, suddenly irritated. “Uh-huh.. Thank you” I say, loudly, and take my seat.
I’d say the simple conclusion is:
- The driver was early, almost inattentive, but definitely pedantic.
- I was verbally grateful but also snarky.
- But TriMet was definitely wrong to place the shelter on a blind corner. What’s the point of having shelters if bus drivers can’t see riders when they’re inside them?