Think your commute is rough? Try driving a bus

It’s not easy being a bus driver, but Bob is glad to have the job.

 “I started with IndyGo after driving tractor-trailers from New York to California. I got tired of being on the road as a truck driver,” he said recently, steering his bus near the end of his route. I’m not using Bob’s real name so he can speak freely, but he’s a friendly guy who enjoys the job and is nice to the passengers.

“I wanted to be home with my family instead of being on the road,” he said. “So when I got into this game it was like, OK, instead of being in a hurry all the time like when you’re driving a truck, I could take my time and take care of the passengers. As Jackie Gleason said, ‘How sweet it is.’”

IndyGo is looking for coach operators as it prepares to start the new Red Line this year and implement a 70 percent expansion in service. The job isn’t for everybody, and the numbers show it. The bus company had 682 total employees at the end of 2018, nearly 20 percent below capacity. In November, the company hired 10 people but lost 11. In December, three left and none were hired, according to a report to the IndyGo board at its January meeting.

The number of drivers isn’t broken out in the report, but Bob and other coach operators say they lose a lot of new hires because dealing with city traffic and angry passengers can be stressful. One woman told me about a passenger dumping a drink on her during a discussion. IndyGo takes passenger complaints seriously, and drivers dread getting written up.

Complaints peak during the summer, maybe because the heat frays everyone’s nerves. July and August saw about 360 complaints each, around double the lowest month, December. Most of the complaints are about “pass-bys,” when the bus doesn’t stop to pick someone up. In their defense, drivers sometimes find it hard to see a person standing in dark clothing at night. Some bus stops cover multiple routes and if someone’s not standing by the sign, a driver might think they’re waiting for a different bus.

IndyGo drivers see a lot. Bob was at a stop light once and looked down to see the driver next to him texting on her phone. The light changed, and her car didn’t move. Bob started to pull away when another car slammed into the woman next to him. He hit his four-ways and pulled over to see if he could help. Both of the other drivers got out of their cars to check the damage - and both were still on their phones, texting.

“You have to laugh sometimes, but it’s also scary,” he said. “We take safety very seriously. People have no idea what we see out here.”

Every organization has problems, but if you ride the bus system in Indy you’ll generally encounter friendly drivers, and will hear riders say “thanks” as they step out the door.

There’s a comment line for riders to speak up. It got 375 total calls in December, including 14 compliments. Most of us never think to jot down a driver number and register a compliment, but maybe we ought to. The number is 317-635-3344.