D-Day

I went ‘live’ yesterday (Tuesday). Besides being the 1st day of driving (without supervision). There were 2 other ‘firsts’.

I have my first bus breakdown. When close to coming to the end of a schedules service, the engine coolant warning light started coming on when the bus was stopped (and the engine idling). When I reached the end of the route (at Circular Quay) I notified the Radio Control of this. I told them the engine temperature gauge was showing only 70 degrees. They told me to do the next service (out to Chiswick) and a replacement bus would be waiting for me there. On the way, the warning light came on with increasing frequency and the temperature was starting to rise. At the top of the hill in Rozelle, the temperature hit 100 degrees. I waited until I got to the bottom of the hill (just before Iron Cove Bridge) to pull over as this seemed the safest place to do so. I asked the passengers to leave the bus and to wait for the next service (about 10 minutes in this case). A mechanic arrived with another bus (after nearly an hour). I returned to Circular Quay to pick up my schedule.

I had my first accident (but a minor one). I was driving in the depot parking area when I sideswiped anther bus. I was turning and watching my mirror to monitor how close I was coming to the other bus. It was after dark (about 7pm) so I was watching the running lights on the side of the bus. I thought they had all cleared but I was wrong. Perhaps I couldn’t see the last one in the mirror. A minor accident but I would have preferred it didn’t happen. Apparently, drivers have, on average 1.3 accidents a year.

3 More Days of Driving Under Supervision

Thursday, Friday and today were the same, i.e., driving scheduled services while being supervised by a BOT1 (Bus Operator Trainer, Level 1). Today was a dress rehearsal in that I got very little input from the trainer.

Tomorrow is D-Day. I am on my own.

An aside: I had expected to feel self conscience with the passengers behind me. I don’t.

Catch Up

Oops, I have fallen behind in updating this.

On Monday, I drove a scheduled service (ie, with passengers) for the whole day while being supervised by a BOT1 (Bus Operator Trainer, Level 1). The day started off late. The 1st 2 buses assigned to me were faulty. I left the depot about 15 minutes late. I did a 438 from Abbotsford to Circular Quay arriving about 30 minutes late (the original 15 plus the 15 I lost en route). This meant I would have started the return journey more than 10 minutes late. This requires me to contact Radio Control. They told me to skip the return journey and to drive straight the starting point for the 3rd journey. I did several other routes that day. This was my 2nd day with a BOT1 (of 5) and I still have a lot to get used to.

Tuesday was a ADO (Rostered Day Off) so I didn’t work.

Today I did 1 scheduled service under supervision in the morning. In the afternoon I was trained to drive a Volvo B12LE. This is the last (and newest) of the 3 bus models I need training on.

Self Defence

(posting relates to Friday, the 13th).

Another day at the Sydney Buses training centre in Strawberry Hills.

Most of the day was taken up learning some self defence techniques. The training was provided by 2 ‘outside’ experts. It was well presented. They claim just knowing such techniques greatly reduces the chances of being assaulted.

Back in the Classroom

I spent today at the Sydney Buses training centre in Strawberry Hills. Most but not all of the people with whom I did the initial classroom training were there. I don’t know why the missing ones weren’t there. Perhaps they have dropped out.

We saw a video (well, DVD) about identifying and dealing with people with dementia in case they have ‘wandered’ and end up on a bus. Another video about people with disabilities (blind, deaf, wheel chair bound, mentally disturbed). A presenter from the Guide Dog Association talked about the strategies of dealing with guide dogs and blind people. We were told how to guide a blind person if they had to leave the bus due to a breakdown or accident. We took turn guiding (and being guide by) another person while wearing a blind fold.

We had a presentation from a person from the ‘revenue protection’ section about fare evasion.

I got paid this week. This is the 2nd time I got paid but the 1st time for a full fortnight. I get $19.163 per hour. The pay slip has a lot of numbers and codes which I do not fully understand.

Real Passengers, Real Money

Today I drove some scheduled services under the supervision of a BOT1 (Bus Operator Trainer, Level 1). I drove, he gave advice and directions.

In the morning we did 2 return trips on Route 407 – Burwood Station to Strathfield Station. Most of the route is through an older, rich suburb – large houses and plenty of trees. Not many passengers. On the way to the Strathfield station we picked up a lot of business people (well, dressed in suits, etc) who I assumed to be the home owners. At the station we picked up who I suspect were the maids and distributed them in the same suburb.

Most of the passengers paid with pre-paid tickets. When a passenger paid with cash, I told him it was the 1st ticket I had sold as a bus driver. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask (and he didn’t offer) for the ticket back when he got off the bus.

The roster was a split shift. I have 3 hours between shifts. During this time (besides having lunch) I took a 409 bus to its end of run and return. I did this because this was the service I was scheduled to drive in the afternoon so I took the opportunity to mark landmarks which would indicate turns.

In the afternoon I did a return trip on the 409 route.

It was a good day. I enjoyed myself.

Dressed to …

I got my uniform today. Well, most of it. Some items were missing, such as the long trousers and long sleeved shirts. It might be a bit cold to wear the shorts (with knee socks) and a short sleeved shirt, though many drivers do.

I also got my id card.

I spent most of the day driver training on a Volvo B10LE. The Burwood depot has about 50 of these. They are air conditioned, have a low floor and wheelchair access.

I am licensed to …

I passed my Final Competency Assessment (FCA) today and my driver’s licence was upgraded from Class “C” (Car) to “MR” (Medium Rigid). This means I am now licensed to drive a bus.

My trainer was also my assessor. He is licensed by the RTA to do this. Normally, an RTA ‘auditor’ is present (ie, on the bus) during the assessment but this time no one showed up at the appointed time so my trainer did the assessment with out the auditor. I think my trainer preferred it this way.

The test consisted of a drive of about 30 minutes, during which I am required to demonstrate the following:
FCA 1
FCA 2
FCA 3
FCA 4

The assessor decides the route to be taken and navigates for me by telling me when to turn. It is a requirement that the test be done on a set of roads I had not used during my training. It was a relatively simple course. It is up to the assessor to design the route to test the required skills.

After the test we went to the RTA office in Lidcombe where I got my new licence. My licence is restricted to buses (and trucks) with automatic transmissions as this is what I did my training and assessment on.

BTW, “Medium Rigid” does not mean the “rigidity” is “medium”. “Medium” refers to the weight of the vehicle which can have only 2 axles (more than 2, it becomes “heavy”). “Rigid” means not articulated and not a semi trailer.

Training Days 12 & 13 – Preliminary Assessment

Both these days (Thursday and Friday) were about the same.

I did a lot of driving over roads with various conditions while my trainer (who is also my assessor) judged my skills at doing specific tasks (“competencies”). Here is the list of competencies I was judged on:
Competencies page 1
Competencies page 2
Note that some have an “X” beside them. This means they are irrelevant to buses.

Here is a description of one of the competencies:
Sample Competency

I passed all the preliminary competencies.

Training Day 11 – Driving

I had a great day.

I did a lot of driving in many different conditions. I drove in the CDB, down George St to Circular Quay, over the Anzac Bridge, through Balmain and Roselle, over the Iron Cove Bridge (very narrow lane) and many other places (I focus on the road so much I don’t always pay attention to the detail of the streets I’m going on). I practiced some reverse parking (I did it twice correctly).

I finished feeling I had good control of the bus the whole time.

Training Day 10 – Driving and Studying

(this was written a day late)

Not a good day.

I arrived (05.30 as normal) determined to not make any mistakes. Within 10 minutes of driving I had made 3. Not major mistakes but small ones, for example, not noticing a “Left Turn on Red Permitted After Stopping” sign.

I then rode ‘shotgun’ while my trainer did a number of scheduled routes.

After the meal break (about 09.15 for 40 minutes), my trainer had other administrative work to do so I sat in the lunch room reviewing the various manuals I have been given. I did this until finish time (14.30). It wasn’t a complete waste as I did learn something. Also, and importantly, a number of the drivers came over to ask how my training was going, etc. They seemed genuinely interested and gave me encouragement.

All the training is on a one-to-one basis. The problem with this is I don’t have any peers to compare myself with. My trainer seems reluctant to offer me this kind of feedback. He is very quick to tell me my mistakes but rarely tells me when I do something right.

An aside: I drove my car on the weekend and I found it difficult to do. Driving the bus I know where the left hand side of the vehicle is by looking in the left hand rear view mirror. The corresponding mirror in the car is not designed the same way so I had difficulty judging how to place the car in the lane of the road. Also, I was taking corners ‘wide’ as I have to with the bus because of its length.