So, over the weekend I was catching the Upper James bus down the mountain at a stop where the quickest route to reach it would be for passengers to jaywalk across the busy street. I'd been waiting for about 5 minutes when I see the bus approaching and these two girls on the other side preparing to dash across the street to get the bus in time. One of them runs and she comes about 3 or 4 inches away from being demolished by a car right there; her friend was luckier but there were still angry drivers honking at them.

When they boarded, the driver asked in amazement if it was THAT important for them to get this particular bus and if they'd simply flagged him down he would've remained stopped. Now, I don't think the girls' actions were at all smart but I can understand why they did it. Experience has taught me way too many times that bus drivers in this city usually won't stay stopped for you even if they're already sitting at a red light and the actual stop is less than 3 feet away or even if you flag them down.

So my question to all of you is this. How good have your experiences been with bus drivers stopping for you/staying stopped outside of the immediate vicinity of the designated area?

Originally Posted by Moo!io

So, over the weekend I was catching the Upper James bus down the mountain at a stop where the quickest route to reach it would be for passengers to jaywalk across the busy street. I'd been waiting for about 5 minutes when I see the bus approaching and these two girls on the other side preparing to dash across the street to get the bus in time. One of them runs and she comes about 3 or 4 inches away from being demolished by a car right there; her friend was luckier but there were still angry drivers honking at them.

When they boarded, the driver asked in amazement if it was THAT important for them to get this particular bus and if they'd simply flagged him down he would've remained stopped. Now, I don't think the girls' actions were at all smart but I can understand why they did it. Experience has taught me way too many times that bus drivers in this city usually won't stay stopped for you even if they're already sitting at a red light and the actual stop is less than 3 feet away or even if you flag them down.

So my question to all of you is this. How good have your experiences been with bus drivers stopping for you/staying stopped outside of the immediate vicinity of the designated area?

Wow, that is ridiculous. I've walked at a pretty fast rate to catch a bus a couple of times in Hamilton and I don't recall ever missing one. They usually wait. Same thing in Toronto. But maybe it's because I've used public transportation so much that I know if I'm going to make the bus or not. But I would never jaywalk to catch a bus, that's just ridiculous. I'd rather be late than in the hospital, plus I always plan ahead and leave 10-15 minute early just in case.

Yeah, I have no idea what they were thinking when they decided jaywalking when there were cars coming from both directions would be a good idea :/

I find that later in the night (around 8 or 9 pm for example), drivers are more sympathetic towards passengers. During the morning or rush hours, forget it.

I completely understand why they did it -- the HSR can be a real pain the ass. I've had buses drive right past me at the bus stop. Sometimes they're late, sometimes they're early. I've witnessed people being seconds late, banging on the side of the bus to get it to stop -- only to have the bus driver ignore them.

Some drivers are a-holes, some are considerate. It's a gamble when you're riding on the HSR.

Originally Posted by l.esho

I completely understand why they did it -- the HSR can be a real pain the ass. I've had buses drive right past me at the bus stop. Sometimes they're late, sometimes they're early. I've witnessed people being seconds late, banging on the side of the bus to get it to stop -- only to have the bus driver ignore them.

Some drivers are a-holes, some are considerate. It's a gamble when you're riding on the HSR.

Are you sure the buses were in service? That's never happened to me before and I've never seen it happen in my lifetime of public transportation, and that's like almost a decade worth of transportation...

I have seen people miss the bus before though, it really sucks but if the buses are late then they can't do anything about it.

What I hate the most is when buses are early but they leave early. But I totally understand that the buses can't just stand at the bus stop due to traffic. But they should try not to be early :\

Originally Posted by jhan523

Are you sure the buses were in service? That's never happened to me before and I've never seen it happen in my lifetime of public transportation, and that's like almost a decade worth of transportation...

I have seen people miss the bus before though, it really sucks but if the buses are late then they can't do anything about it.

What I hate the most is when buses are early but they leave early. But I totally understand that the buses can't just stand at the bus stop due to traffic. But they should try not to be early :\

Of course they were in service.

Originally Posted by l.esho

Of course they were in service.

Just making sure, I've seen a lot of buses that aren't in service. Unless the bus was completely full or seemed like it to the bus driver (if everyone crowds in the front and doesn't move back the bus driver assumes that the bus is full) then it's very weird how the bus didn't stop.

In my experience, many of the HSR drivers are *******s. I couldn't imagine many of them waiting if you flagged them down, but I've never really bothered; I have the 4 digit code of the bus stops that matter to me so I'm always early to the stop.

Originally Posted by l.esho

I completely understand why they did it -- the HSR can be a real pain the ass. I've had buses drive right past me at the bus stop. Sometimes they're late, sometimes they're early. I've witnessed people being seconds late, banging on the side of the bus to get it to stop -- only to have the bus driver ignore them.

Some drivers are a-holes, some are considerate. It's a gamble when you're riding on the HSR.

That actually happened to me a couple days ago. The bus was 5 minutes early and instead of standing at the stop it was SUPPOSED to be at for the 5 minutes, it kept right on driving despite my flagging it down right as I was waiting for the light at the intersection to change.

I guess the driver didn't "see me" =__=

Originally Posted by jhan523

Just making sure, I've seen a lot of buses that aren't in service. Unless the bus was completely full or seemed like it to the bus driver (if everyone crowds in the front and doesn't move back the bus driver assumes that the bus is full) then it's very weird how the bus didn't stop.

Maybe because I was sitting in the bus shelter and they didn't see me? But they should be able to, so I don't know what's up with that.

hsr ... pft never on time. whats worse is when it comes to dropping you off when it is crowded...

a few times they just skip your stop all together .

And people think I'm paranoid for going a few buses earlier than I need to. I'd rather have to wait for one and still be early than miss the one I REALLY need.

Originally Posted by WekSos

hsr ... pft never on time. whats worse is when it comes to dropping you off when it is crowded...

a few times they just skip your stop all together .

Ugh, I've seen this happen several times as well as have it happen to me too. What's even more nonsensical is how they'll stop for one person to get off when it's crowded yet skip other stops where more people are wanting to get off :/

Originally Posted by l.esho

Maybe because I was sitting in the bus shelter and they didn't see me? But they should be able to, so I don't know what's up with that.

Maybe, but they should be able to see you... it's a glass shelter -_-

Originally Posted by Moo!io

Ugh, I've seen this happen several times as well as have it happen to me too. What's even more nonsensical is how they'll stop for one person to get off when it's crowded yet skip other stops where more people are wanting to get off :/

I've seen this happen, well not the not stopping part, but when the bus is really crowded some people can't get to the doors in time to get off. I mean, for students it's ok because you can easily stand and navigate on a moving bus but for older people they can't and it takes them time to get off.

Originally Posted by jhan523

I've seen this happen, well not the not stopping part, but when the bus is really crowded some people can't get to the doors in time to get off. I mean, for students it's ok because you can easily stand and navigate on a moving bus but for older people they can't and it takes them time to get off.

I feel bad for some of the older people sometimes. Often they need to navigate crowded buses with their walkers and packages and whatnot but it's hard for them since the bus is packed. The drivers are usually considerate of them though and will stay stopped for a bit longer if they know an older person is trying to get off.