Be kind to the people that transport you to and from work. Most of the time, that person is just following the rules that are set by the transit authority.

Bus operators and other transit employees are governed by rules and regulations that carry strict penalties if broken. All we want to do is get the passengers from point A to point B as safely as possible.The person driving your bus is not out to make you late for work or take up unnecessary time. We try as much as possible to help passengers out with accurate information, but no one knows the answer to every question. Try as much as possible to get any travel information that you need from the MTA website before you leave your house. If you get on the bus and don’t know if the bus is going where you need to go, the driver can help you. Please don’t ask the driver how you can’t get to 518 Water St.; no one has every address burned in their memory and there is absolutely no way they can access that type of information. You can ask if the bus passes the corner of Nostrand and Church Ave., as that information should be very easy for your driver to tell you. You can even ask the driver if he or she can announce your stop when they get there so you won’t miss your stop. If it’s not a major stop, be sure to sit close to the driver so you can hear when they let you know when you’ve reached your stop. Distracting drivers puts everyone at risk, so try not to hold particularly long conversations with bus operators.

If you are late to work and missed the bus you were supposed to take, you cannot expect that the next bus that comes is going to get you to work on time. We have mandated schedules that we have to follow. If we get to a particular stop more than one minute early we can be penalized by our bosses. So give the driver a break if he’s riding slower and maybe missing a light or two. We only do that so that we won’t get to scheduled stops too early. No matter how much the driver may want to keep the bus moving at a steady pace, we just cannot do it. If the operator in front is late, that can be a reason the following operator is early, because the first one is picking up his people and the people that would ordinarily catch the next bus. For the most part, everyone is trying to stay on their scheduled time, but sometimes situations arise that cannot be foreseen.

If there is a reason you don’t have enough money to ride the bus, you can discreetly ask the operator if you can ride the bus. For the most part, the operator will let you ride. We are required to tell you that the fare for riding the bus and then let it stand at that. Believe me, any story that you can tell that operator he or she has heard more than once. There are some operators that may not let you ride, but the majority will. Do not just go through the back door of the bus hoping you won't be caught, as it can go badly very quickly. No matter what the reason, if a police officer sees you, he will fine you, and a $2.75 ride jumps up to $125.00, plus the embarrassment. You can also trip going up the stairs, which could result in an injury which not only holds the bus up but puts the operator’s job at risk. No matter what you think, the operator sees you from the time you are at that back door, right up to the time you get on the bus. This could be what upsets some operators because people think we don’t see them.

Transit is a well-oiled machine that has been in effect for a very long time. The powers that be try to implement improvements to help the riding public get to and from safely. Do your part to keep the system running too. Try to get on and off the bus as quickly and as safely as possible.The operator’s primary concern is getting you to your destination safely, so work with them in this endeavor. Say good morning, afternoon, etc., sit down, and enjoy the ride. Try to be patient when things don’t go exactly the way you think they should. Anyone who works with people should know how hard the job of a bus operator is, so do not add unnecessary stress. Let’s work together people!