Is it a Halifax Transit Bus Policy to not open a door at a stop once they have closed it?
Today I rushed to a stop, I was 4 seconds late. The driver saw me rushing to catch the bus but he just closed the door and drove off.
I am just wondering if its some kind of policy that they can’t wait for passengers…because it causes delays maybe?
Or do some of the drivers just lack training and empathy?
This is not a rant, I am genuinely curious.
Because when I lived in Saint John, NB, buses would wait for you if they saw you running to catch the bus.
I know Halifax is a busier city, but we are not New York city.
I've been told by a couple prior transit guys that it is policy, apparently to prevent people from running and getting injured or falling into traffic and also keep them on schedule (we see how that works haha)
Some will stop though, seems either morality wins with some or they are ahead of schedule
Yea they definitely aren't good at staying on schedule but if they stopped for every few second late person (other then at terminals) it would probably be way worse
It is a policy. Years ago they used to wait if somebody is running to catch the bus, or at terminals so people can make their connections. But as you’ve mentioned, this caused delays and some disputes between commuters and drivers. It is annoying and sometimes the bus is a minute or two early so it’s not technically your fault, but it is seldom that they’ll open the door again once they closed it (#1 is one of the worst actually!).
My father was a driver, trainer, scheduler and inspector in a large city that isn't Halifax.
Busses should NEVER be early. Not one minute, not 2 minutes, not any minutes. Time points (the stops where busses idle and wait) exist specifically so that busses keep the schedule as it's written, insofar as they're able to excepting circumstances outside their control. Running hot is completely within their control and is cause for escalating corrective action if it is repeat behavior.
"There are a million reasons to run cold (late) but not one reason to run hot (early)."-My Dad
"We run for those who are waiting, we do not wait for those who are running."-Also Dear Old Dad
"An empty bus is a happy bus."-Also Dad
The short answer is: there are a thousand reasons the bus pulled away. But if it had already started to pull away they're not allowed to pull back in and let you on. There are a lot more answers but I don't know the specifics of your situation.
I think there is some truth to the bus drivers closing the doors to prevent people from running after it, there was a death last year in downtown Halifax where someone was running to it and fell underneath it.
As well, depending on how far back you were and the doors closing was initiated, maybe they had set their turn indicator to go back into traffic and didn't want to confuse any vehicles behind them if they suddenly didn't go back into traffic with the turn signal on.
but I think ultimately it comes down to each driver. some are courteous and some not so much.
Out of the three deaths involving a HT bus in the last decade that I know of, two of them were for sure caused by someone running for a bus. Maybe all 3.
I can't speak for anyone else but I don't want to be responsible for someone getting killed. So I refuse to do anything that will encourage the kind of behavior that will cause it.
I would agree. The first line of the passenger safety page is 'Never run for a bus, just wait for the next one'.
https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/halifax-transit/passenger-information/transit-code/safety-tips-passengers
The policy is "You wait for the bus, the bus doesn't wait for you."
They’re not supposed to stop once they’ve started to pull away from the stop. It’s a safety issue.
A lot of them do, because they are trying to be nice, but you can’t bank on it, they can get in trouble for it.
Its policy and its for safety as well as time. The "nice" drivers can get in for breaking policy and a liable if someone gets hurt.
I've run into bus drivers just blasting past a stop with people waiting multiple times. Or when another bus is at the stop, they're behind it but refuse to let anyone board when they're not in the spot, but when just drive off because the bus in front of them took longer than they wanted to wait I guess?
The problem is with "there is always another bus" is that isn't helpful when you've already been waiting an hour for a bus that's meant to come every 15 minutes and god knows when the next one is going to come?
Paging u/Not_A_BusDriver
Pretty sure they are just assholes, I’ve had some wait and some not I think it just depends on the person. I would assume the rule is they don’t have to though.
And the only reason I assholes is because they can be 12 minutes early and do the same thing. I get it though if they have a break and if they are late and miss it I might say “I just didn’t see him” so I dunno, like if I had to shit and that was only option so maybe not assholes
Strictly based on whether the bus driver is an asshole or not.
I saw the bus pull away from a woman running with a stroller just as she made it to the door of the bus. It was in front of the Superstore on Joe Howe.
Couldn't believe it. The buses don't arrive or depart with any kind of consistency, so for them to be so callous is asinine. The whole point of their job and profession is to be a conveyance for people.
If a driver is done with a stop they are looking in there left mirror and traffic to pull out they probably did not see them.
And in the freezing weather too
And look I can understand it's a tough job and you can't just be stopping everywhere. But if the bus is already alongside a stop, and you can clearly see someone running, just fucking wait.
It delays the bus maybe 30 seconds, but for that person, they might be running for work, school, a medical appointment, something that could be really serious. A little courtesy and empathy go a long way.
Yeah. I get it in cities where the next bus is 10-15 minutes away, but most of our buses are on 30 minute or 1 hour intervals.
If you have 20 different people doing this and it adds 30 seconds per, that makes every trip (and every subsequent trip behind it) 10 minutes late, which really adds up. Plus, it's a safety issue, which is the reason for the policy to begin with. If getting to work, medical appointments, school, etc. is important enough, the people running after the bus can stop being irresponsible and get themselves out of bed and out the door on time, instead of dumping their laziness and irresponsibility on everyone else.
See, I was on your side initially. But then when you went into the personal failings of the riders, not at all acknowledging that the busses are frequently off schedule, that they have no qualms in leaving stops early, and that they only use selected stops along their route to stop and "get-back-on-schedule."
So while I agree with the safety issue, and acknowledge it's a tough job with lots of different things to keep track of, it's not as cut and dried as "riders need to be more responsible."
Yes, the buses are off schedule, but you're going to make them even more off schedule if you stop for people running for the bus, which will cause even more complaints, and it becomes a circular issue. The bus that OP was trying to catch is a bus that runs at an every 15 minute frequency in the time of the day they posted about, so sorry, they can wait for the next one if late.
Somebody missed the point. The person you’re replying to is not arguing for the bus stopping and letting OP on, but simply stating there are many more reasons than riders being lazy that contribute to missing a bus.
You just sound angry for no reason. Relax 🙂
Next post, why are transit busses always late. ...
This is why I got a car the moment I could afford to. A car always waits for you, and there is no need to wake up 3 hours early to get to work or revolve your life around a schedule that seems to change on the daily. Another plus is you can bring coffee on board and don't have to share your space with people experiencing a meth high
If it's at a terminal they should definitely reopen the door. At a bus stop maybe not to stay on schedule (even tho they don't but maybe if they always stopped they'd be even worse), some do tho because they have empathy for the person.
I mean, if the bus is already late/behind schedule, I don't think it's unreasonable for them to continue driving instead of stopping and opening the door a 2nd time and making the bus and everyone else on it more late/behind schedule. I think you need to have more respect and empathy for the time of everyone else on that bus and be there on time instead of expecting dozens of strangers to accommodate your lateness and lack of planning.
100%
Depends on the driver, I find.
It really depends what bus. In the city? Maybe. A bus running through a small neighborhood with no traffic? No biggie.
If they stopped at every stop they would never get anywhere
and everyone on the bus including you would be pissing and moaning about the person making them late
This is the only city that operates with that logic
You wait for the bus. The bus doesn't wait for you.
I think it depends if they started pulling away to rejoin traffic.
All bus drivers are pieces of shit. It's a prerequisite
I get it’s a policy but I think what would actually discourage people from taking risks to catch a bus would be if they knew another bus was coming soon and not in another hour
Broadly speaking transit is a pretty unreliable service in this city. Will it get you from point a to point b? Yes. Will it be on time? Often no.
I am unsure of their policies but they must be aware that they’re often not on time so why not just wait a few seconds for someone? Makes no sense.
I have a vehicle and live right beside a bus stop that could take me directly where I need to go every day without a transfer. Too often I have tried to take transit and wound up waiting so long for the bus that I just take my car.
Geesh, back in the early 80's, I remember a fellow student was outside the door running with the bus with his hands door handle. The door was open, and the bus driver was cool with it. This was going up hill (Cowie Hill Rd).
Ah the 80's. Best decade ever.
Ignoring people wanting to get on a bus and then pulling away is one of the few rewards a bus operator gets to enjoy, along with braking hard when the bus is full of standees to see how many passenger pins can be knocked over.
Dawg!! 😃
😂😂😂😂😂
For anyone wondering it was bus #2
So, a bus that comes every 15 minutes that time of day anyway.
Naw it's called that drivers just an asshole they've seen me running plenty of times and opened the doors, other times they're 1 foot past the stop stuck in gridlock traffic and won't open the door