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
Anything to keep us from pushing that little red 'Save' button on the camera system that keeps
calling out to us, "Push me! Push me!"
- 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.
Back to Bus Stuff.