Cool Stuff Inside the Bus

(Or... Fun things to do in the bus... and I didn't change the imageMap)

Warning: When I was a child I was often deemed "un-cool" by my peers. Actually I still am. So what I may think is cool inside a bus may be completely boring to you. I just ask that you bear with me. These are fun things I found inside busses that I never knew about before I became a driver.

October 2008 Update - I haven't been a bus driver since 2005, but it was still a highlight I will always remember. At one point I made some lists of fun things to do inside a bus. Now that I no longer run the risk of losing my job by posting this (for the 3 people who will ever view this page), I feel I can now share them with you all.

Fun Things for Passengers to do on the Bus

• Find the hidden bus-temperature sensor
  • Somewhere on the ductwork is a thermometer. Find out if it's really that hot on the bus... or if it's just you
• Use the under-seat wheel-chair bell
  • On some busses, in the front seats that fold up for wheel-chairs, there's a pressure-sensitive strip that sometimes rings the bell a little differently. You might just make the driver check his sanity when he realizes there are no wheel chairs on board.
• Count the number of screws used to build the bus. These buses are built by hand!

Fun Things to Do On the Bus as a Bus Driver

• There are always the obvious ones like singing on the radio or making loud noises with the brakes
  • Pumping about 30psi out of the brakes at one time makes for a lovely screeching sound!
• Scare passengers by setting off "safe" alarms
  • The rear-door override was one of my favorites... it auto-opened the back door when you stopped... I think.
  • Another one would be the door inter-lock override... but only when you're stopped of course. Safety first
• If you have a bus that lets you push the gas pedal while the parking brake is on, rock the bus from side to side
  • In retrospect, this probably wasn't too good for the bus
• Turn off the bus. Believe it or not, this freaks a lot of people out. Especially when anti-lock brakes go through their safety check on restart (Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! ..... PFFFFFFT!)

What to do When You're Bored at an End-Point

• Peek into panels. Figure out how the bus works, but don't touch anything unless you're a qualified bus technician, or if Bob told you you could.
  • Bob was the head honcho at CyRide while I was there. I hear he's not anymore...
• Try to operate the wheelchair lift manually
  • It really can be done... safety feature in case the power fails on the bus
• Make the wipers go swish swish swish in tune with the song
  • You know..."the wipers on the bus go .. .. .."
• Write notes to the laneworkers in the grimy underside of the engine hood.

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