Navigating

Knowing where to drive is important (well, duh). There are a number of steps I use:

1) First, I reference the time table map issued to the public, for example ;

2) Then I reference what is known is the “Left-Right” book. This is issued to each driver. It contains a table of street names used by the route and indicates whether to turn left or right. Sometimes this has more detail that is shown in the time table map;

3) I then plot the route in a street directory. Here is an example of the detail shown (I don’t actually drive in the area of the example). The street directory shows traffic lights and roundabouts as well as parks, etc.;

4) I hand draw a map with the details from the street directory, including, if useful, the name of the street before the street I need to turn into. I clip this map to the window next to me and reference while I drive;

There also small signs on polls and trees along the route indicating when to turn. Unfortunately, they cannot be relied on. Sometimes they are missing. They are not put in predictable locations, sometimes they are well before the turn, sometimes they are on the other side of the intersection at which the bus is supposed to turn.

Sometimes the route is slightly different depending which direction it is being driven. I also sometimes draw maps for the route I drive between the bus depot and the start/end of the route and between the end of one route and the start of the next.